The Con
by rhymeswithblue
Summary: Once one secret is revealed, all the rest come tumbling after. An unintended kiss, an unexpected alliance, two mistaken identities, a decade-old prophecy, and one dusty photo found in an attic that changes everything.
1. The Unintended

**note:** so, some time last summer, i became completely addicted to next gen and fell in love with lily/scorpius (while reading a lily/teddy fic, ironically.) finally, some odd months later, i've written a story of my own. this was _supposed_ to be a oneshot. but evidently, i don't understand the definition of "concise" anymore. this will probably have around twelve chapters, i'm assuming.

if you want to see how i envision each of these characters to look like, you can go check out my next gen dream cast on my tumblr.

title of story comes from the song of same name by tegan and sara, which is more fitting than you'd think. happy reading!

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><p><span>chapter one<span>  
><em>the unintended<em>

Everything started the night of the Yule Ball in Lily Potter's third year. She was scrambling around gathering her gown, shoes, jewelry, and makeup that had all been previously scattered in nooks and crannies of the room. Molly Weasley and her other roommates watched on in the highest degree of envy, because even though Lily is more than modest and didn't boast, being a third year who got asked to the Yule Ball still gave her all the bragging rights.

"You're so lucky to be going to Yule Ball," Cressida Finnigan sighed dreamily, laying on her bed upside-down with her feet propped up on the pillows.

"Yeah, I can't believe Lorcan finally asked you," Molly said as she sat down besides Cressida. "I thought the boy would never make a move."

"You two are so perfect together," added Gwen Wood.

Lily tucked her hair behind her ear and waved away her friends. "It's not like that. Lorcan only asked me because, and I quote, 'Lysander is taking Rose so I'll never hear the end of it if I show up without a date.' We're just going as friends."

"Except he's deliriously in love with you," Molly pointed out. "And you like him back."

"He does not love me." Lily tossed her pillow and hit her cousin right in the face, causing them all to laugh.

"Well, at least you get to go to the Yule Ball, Lil. The rest of us have to wait until next year," Molly said wistfully.

"Hey, I told you my brother was looking for a date," Lily replied.

Molly wrinkled her nose at the prospect of accompanying Albus. "I am not going to the ball with my _cousin_!"

Lily shrugged and singsonged, "Your loss."

For the next hour, Lily's roommates all put in a collaborative effort to, as Cressida put it, _glamify _Lily. Lily would do her hair and makeup herself, but it's a known fact that Lily Potter is desperately hopeless in that department, so she just sat idly in front of the mirror and watched the transformation. And yeah, she would be lying if she said she wasn't shaking with excitement right then. Even though Yule Balls and formal dances really aren't Lily's thing, there was still that undeniable rush, that unquestionable flutter in her stomach, that smile, that blush, that swoon, whenever she thought about Lorcan.

Because when you're a third year, nothing is better than falling in love with a fourth year.

After Gwen put the finishing touches on Lily's eye-shadow, they all stepped back and Lily stared at her unfamiliar reflection. Her dark blue dress contrasted nicely with her pale skin, her hair was styled to a perfect bun, and she was wearing so much eyeliner and mascara that the old, plain Lily Potter was practically unrecognizable. She looked glamorous indeed. Beautiful, even. Like, the Rose Weasley type of beautiful. Lily wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or not.

But before Lily could say anything, the great Rose Weasley herself barged into the room, wearing the same dress as Lily only hers was a dark violet. Upon seeing Lily all princessed out and quite un-Lily-like, Rose gushed and ran to give her a hug. "You look so pretty, Lily!" Rose exclaimed. She scooted closer so she could stand in front of the mirror too, and the two cousins looked at their matching reflections. Styled red hair on thin shoulders, brilliant eyes and unforgettable smiles, going to the ball with _the_ Scamander twins. It's a rare occasion when Lily ever measured up to wonderful, prefect Rose in any way, so she basked in the glorious moment.

"Oh, my little Lily is growing up so fast." Molly pretended to cry, all melodramatic and whatnot. "Be safe, my darlings. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Ignoring Molly's antics, Rose rummaged through her bag and dug out two intricate masks, one silver with blue trimmings and one black with purple trimmings to match their dresses.

"What are these for?" Lily asked.

"Don't you remember? It's a masquerade."

Of course it's a masquerade and of course Lily forgot and of course Rose came prepared. Lily laughed at the sheer predictability. Tying on the masks, Lily and Rose took one final mirror check before exiting the room, waving goodbye to Lily's roommates, who were getting exponentially sappier and more obnoxious by the second.

Lorcan and Lysander were in Ravenclaw, so Rose and Lily were meeting them at the ball. When Lily walked with her older cousin into the ballroom, it seemed like everyone turned to stare. Lily staggered a bit at the sight. She has never felt so many pairs of eyes on her at once, never felt like her presence was so prominent.

Here's the thing—Rose is kind of a big deal. She's the type of girl who's phenomenal at everything, brains and beauty and everything else you could possibly list. She's the type of girl who turns heads and draws crowds and brightens lives. Here's the other thing—Lorcan and Lysander are kind of big deals too. They're Hogwarts's hotshot boys, with the brooding eyes and lovable laughs and short dark hair that demanded you to run your fingers through them. They're the type who has every girl wrapped around their fingers, and they're only fourth years. And here's the last thing—Lily really isn't that big of a deal. She's just an ordinary girl living behind the fame of her family name, just trying to get by. In comparison, she's quite dull, actually.

But this, this is how it all started. A girl much too ordinary, a cousin much too perfect, matching dresses, dashing twin dates, and a masquerade ball. One innocent night when things went awry.

Lily danced the night away and everything was one big joyous blur. Lorcan was sweet and charming and she loved it when he held her waist tight, tight, tight. He twirled her around the dance floor, chuckled when she stumbled, and told her she looked stunning. Lily was so overfilled with elation, she could hardly take it. How could someone like Lorcan love someone like her?

She had to escape to the bathroom for a while. Sometimes, when she got too happy, she felt nauseous. It was pretty pathetic, really. James used to mock her for it and call her emotion-intolerant.

She removed her mask and splashed some water on her face, careful not to ruin the obscene amount of makeup Cressida had caked on her skin. A few minutes later, Rose entered the bathroom too, looking quite hot and flustered.

"Lysander just doesn't stop," Rose huffed, fanning herself with her hands. "He just keeps dancing and dancing and dancing while I'm here reduced to a pile of exhausted limbs."

"Do you want to use my hair tie?" Lily offered. She shook out her own hair and gave the hair tie to Rose.

"Thank you." Rose took off her mask and pulled her curls up into a sophisticated ponytail. "Well, come on then, let's not keep our dates waiting," she said with a wink.

They gathered their masks and Lily followed Rose back out into the masquerade. Only then did Lily realize she had grabbed Rose's black and purple mask by accident, but Rose had already disappeared into the crowd. Thus, Lily had no other option but to don Rose's mask and dive into the crowd in search of her date, who she was still convinced was far too good for her.

In the dead center of the mass of dancing students, Lily suddenly felt a pair of arms snake around her waist tight, tight, tight. She smiled despite herself and quickly spun around…except it wasn't Lorcan. It was a boy a good head taller with blonde hair and an icy glare. "Scorpius?" Lily breathed out in shock.

"I saw you dance with Scamander," Scorpius said in a low voice. "And I hated it."

He leaned close, pressing their bodies together, and Lily was somewhere between paralyzed in fear and ready to punch him square in the jaw. Because this is Scorpius Malfoy for the crying out loud. He absolutely despised Lily and her brothers, all because of some ridiculous Potter-Malfoy feud that began an entire generation ago. Scorpius had never said one complete sentence to Lily in all her three years at Hogwarts, so what twisted game was he playing at now? "Scorpius, what are you—"

"Don't worry, no one will know it's us with these masks on," he interrupted.

Now Lily was confused as to what the bloody hell he was even talking about. And then, in the time it took her to blink, his lips were on hers in a hungry kiss. Every alarm in her brain was set off in full blast (_CODE RED! CODE RED!_), because A, Potters don't _snog_ Malfoys and B, if anyone, her kiss should be with Lorcan, not Scorpius of all people and C, Scorpius has a girlfriend, Violet Tuckett, so what was he doing here with Lily in the first place? She almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but his mouth was still ruthlessly connected to hers with no sign of ever stopping in the foreseeable future.

Well, to be fair, Lily didn't really put up much of a fight to shove him off. It's just, this was her first kiss, okay? All first kisses are special, regardless of the person it's with or the unusual circumstance it's under, and that's why Lily was getting weak-kneed and clinging onto Scorpius with all her might. It was the kiss, not the boy, okay?

Finally, Scorpius pulled away and Lily could breathe again. A million questions ran through her mind but before a single word could make it past the tip of her tongue, Scorpius smiled and bent down to whisper in her ear, "I've wanted to do that all night, ever since I saw you walk in wearing that tiny dress, Rose."

_Rose_.

Oh no, oh no, no, no, no.

Lily yanked Scorpius's arms off her waist and stepped back out of his grasp. The room seemed to be spinning and the floor seemed to disappear from under feet and Lily was feeling nauseous all over again.

In the dark, Lily and Rose's dresses looked identical. And now that Lily put her hair down and wore Rose's mask instead, it was so terribly easy to mistake Lily for Rose. _Scorpius thought she was Rose. _But why would Scorpius kiss Rose like that unless…unless…

"Rose, are you alright?" Scorpius asked with concern. He stepped forward but Lily quickly retreated back some more.

Lily gulped, looking up at his piercing grey eyes, trying to figure out how to tell him this was all one tragic misunderstanding of unfathomable proportions. "I'm not…"

She got interrupted yet again, this time by James and Fred who whizzed by the dance floor, spinning their cousin—the _real_ Rose Weasley—around in circles while they sang in loud, off-tune, and slightly drunken tenor voices: "Ring around the Rosie! Ring around the Rosie!" Rose laughed, her trademark twinkling laugh, and the three waltzed right by without noticing Scorpius or Lily, who were standing three feet apart, both sharing looks of complete and utter horror at the realization.

Scorpius watched Rose go by and turned back around to stare at the other red-haired girl whom he had wrongly presumed to be Rose. "Lily?" he exclaimed, recognizing the youngest Potter at last.

This was too much for Lily to handle, so she slipped between the crowd and ran off, ignoring Scorpius's shouts behind her. She took off her heels and carried them in her hand while she made a mad dash towards the exit. Her mind was overridden with too many contradicting emotions and she needed to get away, clear her head, anywhere but here. She was already halfway out the Great Hall when Lorcan caught up to her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Lorcan. Sorry." She stopped running and turned around to face him. "I'm…I'm tired, that's all," she lied. "I think I'll head back to my room."

"Oh." Lorcan's smile faltered and Lily felt like a horrible person. "I'll walk you back, then."

"No, that's okay. I wouldn't want to ruin your night."

"No, no, I insist."

Over Lorcan's shoulder, Lily noticed a certain blonde, masked figure approach. If Lily went back to the Gryffindor Tower by herself, Scorpius will definitely catch her alone and force upon her an awkward conversation that she wanted to avoid at all costs. So, she took Lorcan up on his gentlemanly offer, and the pair walked away. Thankfully, Scorpius didn't follow.

When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily gave Lorcan a polite hug and thanked him for taking her to the ball, she had a lot of fun, Merry Christmas, etc. She slowly inched towards the entrance of the tower, wanting to just escape to her room already. But then Lorcan took her hand in his, ran his free hand through his hair nervously, and stared straight into her soul with his deep hazel eyes. Lily knew what was coming, and honestly, there could not possibly be a worse time for this. "So," he began, "I really like you, Lily."

The Fat Lady in the portrait bashfully hid her face with her fan, but peeked over the top to eavesdrop on the conversation. Lily was afraid she would vomit all over Lorcan's shoes, she was so nauseous.

"And I was wondering if maybe you wanted to be my girlfriend?" he said with a hopeful expression on his face.

The Fat Lady squealed behind them. Lily put on her best smile. "Maybe."

Lorcan chuckled at her response before pulling her close, wrapping a hand behind the crook of her neck, and giving her a short, sweet kiss. (The whole while, she couldn't help thinking that her second kiss didn't measure up to the first.) He bid her goodnight and headed towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

In a daze, Lily muttered the password "Cor mensque" and entered the Gryffindor common room after the Fat Lady swung open. With her cold fingers, she touched her lower lip, the very lip that had scandalously kissed two attractive boys in a single night. It was supposed to be simple. Lily and Lorcan would have been perfect together, remember? But Scorpius just had to enter the picture and mess everything up. Scorpius and his kiss and the way he made her feel…

All Lily knew is that there _is_ something better than falling in love with a fourth year: falling in love with a fifth year.


	2. The Chain

**note: **just to clarify, james and fred are 17; rose, scorpius, and albus are 15; lorcan, lysander, and lucy are 14; lily, molly, hugo, roxanne, cressida, and gwen are 13.

hope you like this new chapter! chapter three should be out tomorrow.

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><p><span>chapter two<span>  
><em>the chain<em>

The next morning, Lily decided she would avoid Scorpius Malfoy by all means possible and try to pretend like last night never happened. To her credit, she lasted all the way until after breakfast.

Ever since she arrived back in her room two hours before the Yule Ball officially ended, her friends have been pestering her for details about the dance and about Lorcan. She told them about the decorations and the fancy gowns and how Lorcan kissed her (here, Molly's squeal gave the Fat Lady a run for her money). Yet, she couldn't bring herself to tell them about her rather intimate encounter with one rogue Slytherin who was the sole reason she fled the ball in the first place. Somehow, she knew she didn't quite have the liberty to tell that detail.

"Hey Lily," Hugo said, with a mouth full of food, poking her with his fork from across the table, "I think Malfoy is staring at you."

At this, every Gryffindor within earshot immediately turned to look three tables over where Scorpius Malfoy was indeed looking in their direction. Caught staring by the entire Potter/Weasley motley crew, Scorpius quickly ducked his head and tried to play it off, casually swirling the pumpkin juice in his cup and joining in on his friends' conversation. Albus and Hugo guffawed at Scorpius's obvious actions.

"He couldn't have been staring at _me_. Must have been someone else," Lily stated in a monotone voice. She gave a sidelong glance at Rose, who for some reason also found a sudden interest in her pumpkin juice.

How could she keep such a gigantic secret from everyone? How could she cheat on _Lysander_? Lily didn't know what to think of Rose anymore. (And the others? They didn't notice a thing.)

James cracked another joke about Scorpius's stick-up-his-arse personality which got the whole table laughing again, except Lily. From the corner of her eye, she watched Scorpius make a speedy exit from the Great Hall. She swore he turned his head and looked straight at her before disappearing around the corner.

"Are you okay, Lily?" Cressida asked with concern. "You look stressed."

"I'm fine, Cress," she replied halfheartedly.

"But you hardly ate anything," Molly said, pointing to Lily's full plate of food.

Lily shrugged and stood from the table. "I'm not really hungry, I guess. I'm going to head back to the common room and start on my homework. See you guys later."

She departed the Great Hall as her friends watched worriedly from the table. She's fine, really. She just has a stupid boy on her mind.

Rounding the corner, she walked past a statue of a knight when suddenly a pair of hands seized her and pulled her behind the knight. Some Hufflepuff first years were running by, so Lily's captor clamped one hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Annoyed, she hastily pushed his hand away and spun around to face Scorpius. "What do you want?" she spat.

Scorpius seemed taken aback by her fierce reaction and released his grip on her arm. "I just…I wanted to talk with you."

"And you like talking to people _here_?" She gestured to the small, practically nonexistent space between the knight statue and the wall.

"Well, no…" he trailed off, looking guilty.

"What, are you embarrassed that someone will see you talking to a Potter? Or that someone will see you talking to a little third year? Or both?"

"No, it's not like that, Lily, I promise. I just don't want people to overhear what we're talking about."

Lily sighed and blew some hair out of her eyes. "Alright, let's get this over with. I won't tell anyone you kissed me and I won't tell anyone you actually wanted to kiss Rose and I won't tell anyone that you two are secretly seeing each other behind Lysander and Violet's backs. I'll keep your secret. We can just forget anything ever happened, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah." Scorpius blinked a few times at Lily's surprisingly thorough response. He looked quite speechless and quite idiotic.

"Is that all?" Lily asked, tapping her feet impatiently.

He nodded. "That's all."

Lily turned and stepped out from behind the knight, earning a strange look from a passing professor, and walked down the corridor towards the Gryffindor Tower where she was originally headed before she was rudely detained. She could feel Scorpius's eyes on her as she left, so she held her head up and tried to not feel self-conscious. It's only Scorpius, she kept telling herself.

Except when is it ever _only Scorpius_?

"Hey, wait!" Scorpius called out, so she turned around once more. He had stepped out from the statue too and was now openly engaging in conversation with her, so maybe he was trying to prove that he wasn't ashamed to be associated with her after all. He shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned, ever so slightly. "Thank you."

She didn't expect _that_. She never knew Scorpius could be humble, but then again, she never really knew Scorpius at all. It kind of makes her wonder why she used to hate this boy. Because her brothers told her to, that's why. But that's the most pathetic reason she ever knew.

Just then, she heard her friends' voices as they headed towards the corridor, so Lily quickly nodded in response and turned to retreat, hoping her friends wouldn't catch her with Scorpius Malfoy and jump to troublesome conclusions.

But alas, Scorpius just had to wave goodbye and say, "I'll see you around, Potter" in an unnecessarily loud voice. He walked off in the opposite direction, passing Lily's dumbfounded friends. Lily winced, prepared for the onslaught.

"What are you doing talking to Malfoy?" "What did he want?" "I thought you went back to do homework." "Are you _friends _or something?" "Lily!" "So he was staring at you!" "Why did you lie to us?"

"Guys!" Lily yelled, silencing her friends' interrogation. "It wasn't anything, okay? We just bumped into each other and he started talking to me. He probably thought it'd be funny to befriend me and annoy Al or something, I don't know. I've never even spoken to him before, so calm down."

Molly, Cressida, and Gwen seemed suspicious, but bought the lie regardless. The four of them hooked arms and marched away to the common room together. Lily sneaked one last glance behind her shoulder at Scorpius before he disappeared down a staircase.

It's true, though, the two of them really weren't friends. Basically strangers. But they shared a secret now, and that was worth something at least.

* * *

><p>Sadly, the holiday break was soon over so they were all back in class and Lily has to admit, she is rather <em>terrible <em>at this "avoiding Scorpius Malfoy" thing. It's been hardly a month after the unintended kiss and she's already had far too many chance encounters with the boy of interest. Meeting him on the stairs after hours, bumping into him at Quidditch practice, accidentally running smack into him in the middle of the hallway, sending their books and papers flying every which way…If he didn't have two girlfriends already, Lily would certainly think he was intentionally stalking her.

In fact, the only thing she achieved out of this whole escapade is inadvertently avoiding Lorcan instead.

"Lorcan Scamander asked you to be his girlfriend and you're ignoring him like he's a glass of expired milk," Molly cried in desperation. "Lily Luna Potter, you are mental."

It was Saturday and Lily and Molly were currently lounging around the lake, trying to make the most of the abnormally warm January afternoon and to procrastinate on their awaiting piles of homework. Lily sighed and lay back on the grass. Molly had been continuously pestering her about this Lorcan situation and, really, at this point, Molly can have him if she wants. Lily would be lying if she said she still has any feelings for him, not even the slightest bit of a crush. Don't get her wrong, Lorcan is great, the sweetest guy she's ever met, but when compared to a certain someone else—_no_. Stop thinking about him, Lily, stop, stop, stop.

"Hey guys!" Roxanne Weasley, in her brightest black and yellow scarf, plopped down on the grass in the middle of her two cousins. Lily, Molly & Roxy, the way it always was. "So, Lily, I heard about you and Scorpius."

Lily groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face in the grass. "The news has spread to Hufflepuff, too?"

"Honey, the news is everywhere," Roxanne said matter-of-factly. "Our parents will probably hear of it soon."

"But there's nothing hear!" Lily complained. "Scorpius is just a fool who won't leave me alone. There's nothing going on between the two of us, I swear."

"Kind of like how there is nothing going on between you and Lorcan?" Molly pointed out, bitterness and a trace of jealousy evident in her voice.

"Whoa, whoa, back up," Roxanne said, "what's this about Lorcan? I thought you two were dating."

Molly promptly gave Roxanne a quick up-to-date recap of Lily's love life while Lily proceeded to bury her face deeper into the grass. Things were getting messier and messier.

"Isn't that the Scamanders over there, with your sister?" Roxanne said, pointing to across the lake. Sure enough, Lorcan, Lysander, Lucy Weasley, and other Ravenclaws were walking around the lake, laughing together. Unfortunately, the path they were following would ultimately lead right to where the three cousins were currently sitting.

Of course something like this would happen. Lily sighed, dejectedly rested her forehead against Roxanne's shoulder, and decided she should give up all pretenses of avoiding people in the future because nothing ever goes in her favor.

Suddenly, Molly jumped up eagerly and waved at the oncoming crowd. Lily's eyes widened in apprehension. "For the love of Merlin, please don't—"

"HI LUCY!" Molly shouted at her sister, and thereby successfully getting the attention of Lorcan Scamander, the Ravenclaw group, and the entire Hogwarts student population, no less.

"—do that," Lily finished. She scanned the vicinity and wondered if anyone would notice if she disapparated.

The answer, evidently, is yes, because when she finally looked up, her vision was completely obstructed by a smiling Lorcan Scamander. "Lily Potter, I've got you at last. You're not going to run away, are you?"

Lily slowly rose to her feet and feigned an innocent smile. "Run away? I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Little Lil, just give him an answer already," Lysander interrupted. "Either agree to be his girlfriend or reject him. I am sick of loverboy's constant whining."

Lorcan bit his lip and raised his eyebrows, as if to say _So what's it gonna be? _and it's really adorable. Lily fidgeted, unsure of what to say. Over Lorcan's shoulder, she saw Molly and Roxanne motioning for her to say yes. Lucy, however, simply shrugged and seemed amused by these juvenile actions.

On one hand, Lily would be Little Miss Sky High Standards if she turned down Lorcan Scamander for crying out loud, but there is always the other hand.

Speaking of the other hand, Scorpius Malfoy appeared out of nowhere at that precise moment. He grabbed Lily's wrist and briskly walked off with her in tow without a word. Lily, with no other choice, stumbled after him, giving her friends an apologetic glance for her departure. She didn't miss Lorcan's confused but crestfallen expression or Molly and Roxanne's matching glares of suspicion.

Scorpius didn't stop dragging her until they reached a secluded tree. He released his hold on Lily and she rubbed her sore wrist. Every time they have a conversation, Scorpius tends to end up aggressively manhandling her. The problem is that she almost sort of enjoyed it.

He didn't say anything for a long while, just leaned against the tree trunk, looking godly and attractive as always, while Lily awkwardly shuffled from foot to foot. When she couldn't bear the silence anymore, she simple said, "So?"

"I thought I would save you. Scamander was looking far too desperate and you looked like you wanted to disapparate the hell out of there," Scorpius explained.

The second part was deadly accurate, but Lily didn't tell him. "Well, thank you, I guess." She began walking off again, hoping to escape back inside the castle without her friends seeing, but Scorpius grabbed her wrist again and yanked her back again. If he keeps doing that, soon Lily will dislocate she shoulder.

"Since I did you such a favor," he continued, to which Lily scoffed, "it would only be fair if you did me a favor in return."

Ah. So that's why he randomly decided to play hero. Figures.

"There's the Hogsmeade trip next weekend," he explained, "and I need your help. Last trip, Violet almost caught me sneaking away to see Rose. She got angry at me, and then Rose got angry at me and it was altogether an awful time. I'd rather that not happen again."

"Well, you could tell Violet the truth," Lily suggested. Scorpius looked away, not out of guilt or embarrassment as Lily had expected, but with a torn and gloomy expression that made Lily's heart go soft. There was something else, some deeper secret he wasn't telling Lily.

"How exactly am I supposed to help?" Lily finally asked.

Scorpius smiled and the sadness vanished from his face. "Your brother has an invisibility cloak, right? Is there any possible way you could somehow get your hands on it?"

"Your doubt is offensive. Of course I can get it. But why should I help you?"

"Because you love me." For a second, she thought he had somehow discovered her innermost secret and her stomach clenched. But then his face broke into a goofy smile and she realized he was only joking. Phew, false alarm.

"Fat chance," she replied. She tried to cover her almost nervous breakdown with a shaky laugh.

"Come on, Lily. You're the only one I can turn to, since you're the only one who knows about Rose and me. You're like my little confidant."

Scorpius surely meant that in the most platonic way possible, yet Lily still swooned. She cursed her heart and thin skin. "Fine," she said reluctantly.

After she agreed, Scorpius's face lit up and he hugged Lily, telling her she's the best, and ran off as abruptly as he appeared. Lily stood there under the tree for a few moments more with the lingering feel of his arms around her, and thought over just what exactly she had gotten herself into. Molly must have been right, Lily _was _mental. Why else would she agree to help the boy she desires get together with her beautiful cousin instead?

When she slowly returned to her previous spot on the grass with her cousins, the Ravenclaw pack was surprisingly still present. Which sucks, since the whole point of Scorpius stealing her away was so that she could escape this conversation with Lorcan, this downward spiraling of awkwardness. Technically, Scorpius didn't do her a favor at all, so their agreement should be invalidated.

They didn't say anything when she returned, but she knew what they all wanted to say. _Malfoy. Again._ It was becoming increasingly difficult to convince them of the truth when coincidences kept matching their misunderstandings.

Lorcan gave her a disheartened look, one final chance before he walked away forever. Lily shook her head and whispered, "Sorry, Lorcan."

He nodded and didn't question her further. After hugging her goodbye, one last time, Lorcan turned around and walked away with his held high and full of dignity, as if he hadn't just been dumped by a thirteen-year-old. The pack followed away silently. Watching the group depart, Molly walked up next to Lily and crossed her arms across her chest. "You know," she said to Lily, "I hate you sometimes."

Both Lily and Roxanne turned to their cousin in shock, but Molly was staring after the Ravenclaws, after Lorcan, with such a tender look in her eyes. Lily knew, right then, that she was indeed a horrible person. Molly loved Lorcan. She always had. If Lily had bothered to open her eyes, she would have certainly known. Instead, Lily stole him away, then promptly threw him away as if he didn't even matter.

But Lorcan mattered to Molly. He's Molly older sister's best friend who fell for Molly's cousin, while Molly herself is always left out of the equation. Now Molly, Lorcan, and Lily were all part of some sick chain of unrequited love, and it's completely Lily's fault.


	3. The Dewflower

**note: **so, when i say the next chapter will be out "tomorrow", i obviously meant "next week." sorry. i had the chapter mostly written, but then i realized the weasley wizard wheezes was in diagon alley, not hogsmeade. rookie mistake. anyway, because of that, i had to rewrite the entire second half of the chapter. on the plus side, i discovered the gem that is dogwood and deathcap! i love harry potter wikia. hope you like this chapter. tell me what you think of the characters so far.

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><p><span>chapter three<span>  
><em>the dewflower<em>

After Charms on Friday, Lily gathered her books at a painstakingly slow pace to ensure she was the last to exit the classroom. As soon as she stepped out the door, she quickly wrapped herself in the invisibility cloak, which she had easily swiped from James's trunk after Fred let her into their room. Oh Fred. Lily gets away with so much with that cousin. Hidden from sight, Lily crept out of the castle to the greenhouse where Scorpius was just leaving his Herbology class. When her invisible hand latched onto the crook of his elbow, the expression on his face was priceless and the high-pitched shriek he uttered was blackmail-worthy.

"Lily," he gasped after she removed the cloak and revealed herself. "Don't do that."

She laughed for three minutes straight and handed the cloak to him. Still a little frazzled from the scare, he checked to see that no one was watching before folding the cloak and hiding it between his books.

"Thanks." Then, because he's humiliation-intolerant and can't handle being the butt of a joke, he decided to turn the table on her. "So, I heard about your brutal rejection of Scamander the other day."

She scowled at the dastardly sneer on his face. "Yes, well, you didn't exactly help me out there, only made things worse. And since your little favor turned out to be not a favor at all, I think it's only fair if you do something else for me, in return for borrowing this cloak."

"What do you want, then?" Scorpius asked.

Well, drat. In hindsight, Lily didn't exactly think this far ahead when she was planning this proposition. She stuttered a bit and Scorpius's conceited smirk only got wider. "Er, y-y-you just owe me, that's all. You're in debt and I can demand whatever I want whenever I wish."

"That's hardly fair, though," he complained.

"You're just lucky I'm not adding interest."

After mulling it over a few more seconds, Scorpius nodded. "Fine. It's a deal." Lily outstretched her hand, but instead of shaking it, Scorpius reached out and ruffled Lily's hair. Then he called out to some friends up the hill and ran to catch up with them, yelling a quick goodbye to Lily over his shoulder, like an afterthought. Lily remained put, fixed her hair, and hoped she wasn't making a habit of this—watching Scorpius leave.

Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder and half a shriek escaped Lily's mouth before she turned around and saw that it was only Professor Longbottom. It's funny because now _she_ was the one frightened out of her whim. (She recalled something her mother once told her about karma, but she shook that thought away.) Longbottom scrutinized her, long and hard, before glancing after the departing Scorpius. "You and Malfoy?" There was an element of disbelief in the professor's tone that was strangely unnerving.

Lily shrugged. "It's kind of complicated, sir."

"Oh, is it?" Longbottom chuckled. "Tell you what, you just be careful Miss Potter. Don't get hurt."

He retreated back to his classroom, but Lily only thought of grey eyes and smiles and muttered, "No promises."

* * *

><p>The Hogsmeade trip finally came around. That morning, Lily, Molly, Cressida, and Gwen were a maroon-and-gold color-coordinated walking jumble of scarves and hats. While waiting in line to depart the castle, Fred even jokingly draped his scarf over Cressida's head, saying his mistook her for a coat rack. They arrived in town together in a giant Gryffindor Potter-Weasley pack, but quickly dispersed as soon as they hit the shops. Shortly after, Roxanne joined the girls and they all headed for the Three Broomsticks, strategically steering clear of the heavy traffic of students on the main street.<p>

Once seated, they ordered butterbeer all around and gossiped about boys, naturally. Some time later, Lily was just thinking about the invisibility cloak and wondering if it was working out for Scorpius when the doors to the Three Broomsticks swung open and the rambunctious Ravenclaw group wandered in, led by the Scamander twins with Rose Weasley very much tucked under Lysander's arm. Well, there's her answer. Scorpius's plan was evidently _not_ successful. Once the Ravenclaws spotted the girls in the corner, they immediately walked towards them, with some insane notion that the girls' small table could physically fit eight more.

"Little Lil!" Lysander called gleefully, squeezing himself next to her on the bench and squishing Lily into Molly in the process. He dragged Rose onto the bench too while Lucy slid in on the other side by Roxanne. Lorcan drew a nearby chair and sat at the head of the table besides Rose. The remaining Ravenclaws, clearly the more sensible, reconvened at the next booth over.

And that's how Lily ended up sitting there, jammed between Molly and Lysander, with barely any breathing room, listening to the conversation with half an ear, avoiding eye-contact with Lorcan who seemed to be doing the same. Okay, so this was slightly awkward.

Then, while she stared at an empty chair so she didn't have to stare at Lorcan, she saw the empty chair _move _slightly to the right, even though no one was anywhere close to it. It couldn't be. Could it?

She felt something poke her head but when she turned around, she found nothing there, once again. She turned back around and took a sip of her butterbeer, thinking it must be her nerves playing tricks on her, when Molly said something hilarious (Lily missed it) and the whole table erupted in laughter. In the middle of the joyous uproar, Lily felt something poke her head again and this time, she also heard someone whisper in her ear. "Lily. _Help_."

Hearing Scorpius's invisible, disembodied voice made her spit her drink out in surprise, effectively getting butterbeer all over her shirt and scarf. She faked a few coughs to make it seem like a coughing fit.

"You okay, Little Lil?" Lysander asked.

"Yeah, I just choked, you know, from laughing…I'll go clean up now." She scrambled to climb out of the crammed booth, over Lysander's lap. As she passed Rose, she quickly grabbed her forearm. "Come with me, Rose."

With the pretense of "cleaning up" her embarrassing mess, she and Rose made their way through the small crowd at the Three Broomsticks. Lily was already practically at the bathroom door when she stopped short and pondered just exactly what she was doing. Why was she putting in so much effort to facilitate Rose and Scorpius's scandalous affairs? How did Scorpius ever function without her? Twice she's had to save him so far and here she thought _she _was supposed to be the damsel in distress. Certainly if he requires so much of Lily's help to make his relationship with Rose work, it can't be much of a relationship.

She made up her mind right then and had every intention of turning around to tell Scorpius, face to invisible face, _no more_. She'll be his "little confidant", sure, but one unexpected alliance spurred by an incidental kiss can only go so far and she has to draw the line at some point. Just because she was unreasonably infatuated with him doesn't mean she would willingly be exploited like this. Truth is, Lily didn't want to be a horrible person anymore.

But when Lily spun around with her new resolve, Rose was nowhere to be seen. Lily scanned the floor and halfway across the room, she spotted two pairs of shoes inching their way towards the exit before the cloak was readjusted and the shoes went out of sight once more. A few seconds later, the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord, and then slammed shut. Everyone else passed it off as the pesky winter wind.

Lily sighed; the diversion was successful, of course. She entered the bathroom nevertheless since she _did _have butterbeer all over her clothes. After washing the stain quite unsuccessfully, Lily returned to the table in a bit of a foul mood. Lysander scooted over on the bench closer to Molly so Lily could simply sit down on his other side, saving her the hassle of climbing over him again. Everyone was caught up in the conversation, so no one mentioned the unexplained disappearance of Rose. Lily crossed her fingers and prayed for ignorant friends.

"Hey, where's Rose?"

Lorcan noticed, though. Bless his soul. Lily turned to look at him, making eye contact for the first time in a week. "She saw some friends and went over to say hello. When I looked for her again, she and her friends were gone. I'm not sure where they wandered off to," she lied perfectly.

Lorcan nodded, a few more times than necessary. Lily couldn't tell if he bought her fib or not, but he wasn't calling her out. "She's bound to be here somewhere. Hogsmeade is only so big."

"Her loss," Lysander said, stretching out both arms to wrap around Lily and Molly on his either side, "I'll just have to spend the afternoon with these pretty ladies."

Lily and Molly simultaneously wiggled out of his grasp and Lysander smiled cheekily. In some form of retaliation, Molly reached up and snatched Lysander's glasses, placing them over her own eyes and wrinkling her nose at his awful eyesight. As those two wrestled over possession of his glasses, Roxanne leaned towards Lucy and whispered, "You're right. He does have a fetish for redheads."

At that comment, Gwen and Cressida laughed heartily while Lily and Lorcan shared a look and slowly shook their heads. It was a nice moment, a bit of their old dynamic returning, and she swore she saw Lorcan grin. She grinned back and suddenly, it was like all the tenseness in the air vanished. This was Lorcan's way to telling her that he forgave her, that he's over it, that they can go back to the great friends they always were.

That they were going to be okay. (Still awkward as hell, but okay.)

* * *

><p>After they finished their butterbeer, except for Lily who wisely avoided all beverages for the remainder of the trip, thank you very much, they walked out onto the street just as the initial crowd was dying down. Small snowflakes were drifting down in a soft snowfall. Lorcan, Lysander, and Lucy waved goodbye to the girls and headed towards Honeydukes. The girls were planning on visiting Dogweed and Deathcap to view the new imported flowers, but every few steps or so, Molly would look over her shoulder at the Ravenclaws with a torn expression on her face. Seven repeats of this and Lily had enough. She grabbed Molly's shoulders and pushed her in the direction of Honeydukes, "Just <em>go <em>already!"

"What?" Molly stammered. "You sure?"

"Yes!" Lily, Roxanne, Cressida, and Gwen all shouted in response. "I obviously screwed up my chances with Lorcan," Lily said, "don't let me screw up your chances too."

Molly gave her friends a grateful group hug before sprinting down the street and catching up with her sister and the twins right as they're about to enter the sweet shop. Lorcan greeted her with a smile and lazily threw his arm around her shoulders. Even from the distance, Lily could tell Molly was melting into a pile of bliss from being in Lorcan's arms. See? Lily Potter knew how to do a good person, too.

The girls, sans Molly, now stepped into the small Dogweed and Deathcap. The chimes attached to the door rang out as the door swung open. The four girls squeezed into the hectic shop and it seemed like they were already exceeding capacity. Dogweed and Deathcap was a tiny herbology shop crammed with too many shelves of plants, and the only other customer in the shop was Hugo. Beside him, a little old lady with a striped apron and her long grey hair pulled back into a braid appeared from behind a rows of plants and eagerly came to greet the new guests. "Oh good, you're finally here," she exclaimed, "I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me."

"We could never forget you, Madame Belina," Lily replied. "Sorry we didn't come by earlier."

"That's quite alright. I had Hugo here to keep me company. Come, come, would you girls care for some fig tea?"

It was actually Dominique Weasley who first befriended the eccentric shopkeeper years ago. Madame Belina was a personification of her shop; frequently overlooked, underappreciated, quaint, quirky, but full of life. Say what you will, Dogweed and Deathcap may not be the most successful business in Hogsmeade but it's the Lily's favorite by far. Ever since Dominique told her younger cousins about it, they've been making a routine of visiting Madame Belina every Hogsmeade trip.

Madame Belina waved her wand and two trays of olive-colored tea in mismatched teacups hovered over to the friends. They all took one, sipped the tea, stifled their gags at the pungent taste, and respectfully set their cups aside untouched for the remainder of the visit. Madame Belina beamed at her favorite group of children, but counted two Weasleys short from usual. "Now, where are Molly and Rose?"

"Boys," Roxanne answered.

"Oh my, don't tell me those two already have boyfriends."

"Rose has one and Molly is trying to get one."

Any other time, Lily would have scoffed and muttered under her breath that Rose actually has _two_, but she had just accidentally knocked over a flowerpot and was too busy reaching out with lightning reflexes to catch the pot before it shattered on the ground. She wanted to ask Hugo, who was standing near her, if he saw her impressive save because it would be such a shame if that maneuver went un-witnessed, but she suddenly became overpowered in a strange stupor. She looked back at the flower she was holding. It was pink and sparkly and fragrant and everything antonymous to Lily, but she felt herself drawn to the flower regardless. Almost as if in a trance, she breathed in the sweet scent and lost herself in memories.

Madame Belina had launched into a very grandmother-like speech about how they were all too young to date, and back when she was young, et cetera. Lily didn't hear a single word though, because she only thought about one particular blonde fifth-year who's been on her mind nine-tenth of today. She thought about how maybe Violet Tuckett isn't the right one for him and maybe neither is Rose. She thought about his hugs and his kiss and just as her fingers grazed the bright flower petals, Madame Belina snatched the flower pot away.

"Lily! We've been calling your name for the past two minutes," Cressida said. "We have to head back to Hogwarts now."

That snapped Lily out of her romantic daze. She must have been zoned out for fifteen minutes. She cleared her head and almost laughed at the ridiculousness of her own thoughts. Scorpius and Lily? Like that would ever work. Why would he ever date someone like her when he already had someone like Rose? How would she ever compare?

"The Amazonian Dewflower is extremely potent," Madame Belina explained to Lily, holding up the pink flower. "The dewdrops act as strong love potions and simply the scent of the flower can overload one's emotions. But it's not like any other love potion. The Dewflower only heightens love that is already there. It makes you feel what you already feel, just tremendously exaggerated."

So that's why she started daydreaming about Scorpius for no discernable reason. It was a nice excuse—when in doubt, blame it on the exotic flower—but Lily knew she was still in the wrong for harboring feelings, however microscopic, for Scorpius in the first place. She nodded and bid farewell to Madame Belina, but not before Madame Belina handed the Amazonian Dewflower back to her. "Why don't you keep this, dear? Free of charge."

"Madame Belina, I couldn't…"

"No, no, I insist," the jolly shopkeeper said with a knowing smile. "At the very least, it's a beautiful flower to keep on your windowsill. But you be careful, Lily. The Dewflower doesn't always show you what you wish."

That's the second time she has been warned to be careful. First Professor Longbottom, now Madame Belina. Neither could possibly understand exactly what dilemma she currently faced, yet their advice held a certain merit. If Lily were one to believe in bad omens and foreshadowing, she would probably realize that greater conflicts lie ahead, but Lily was never one to believe in those nonsensical things. Gently placing the small flowerpot into her bag, she hugged Madame Belina goodbye and left Dogweed and Deathcap, running to catch up with her friends.

Molly, Lorcan, Lysander, and Lucy were there too, along with James, Albus, and Fred. Rose surreptitiously appeared beside Lysander, jumping into the middle of the conversation as if she had been there the whole time.

"Rose!" Lysander gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Where did you disappear off to?"

By some weird miracle of cousin telepathy or something, Rose's response matched Lily's earlier lie perfectly. "Oh, just met up with a few of my friends."

Everyone walked back together to Hogwarts, laughing in the fresh snow, showcasing their recent purchases and telling each other stories of their day at Hogsmeade. Lily was just in the middle of explaining why she had a hideous yellow stain on her shirt to her brothers when suddenly she walked smack into a pole and the next thing she knew, she was lying on the snow with all the contents of her bag spilled out beside her.

"What the hell, Malfoy?" James was shouting. "You just shoved my sister onto the ground!"

Turns out the "pole" she walked into was actually Scorpius Malfoy, who was now ignoring James and reaching down to help Lily up. She hesitantly took his gloved hand and slowly got back to her feet again. As she brushed the snow off her jeans, she realized a small crowd had gathered around. James's loud voice was making quite the spectacle. Lily felt that old nauseous feeling creep back again, except she wasn't sure if it was from having all these people staring at her or from her potential concussion.

"James," she whispered, tugging on her brother's sleeve, "it's okay. He didn't shove me. I just didn't see where I was going and walked right into him."

James, however, continued his accusations. "And what were you doing just standing there like a statue? Waiting for Lily to walk into you? Malfoy, you—"

Lily wanted to lie back down on the snow again. James has the shortest temper she's ever seen and it's embarrassing, every time. She sent a pleading look in Albus's direction and he silently dragged the fuming James away. This was how they dealt with James as a kid too; their parents would simply sit James down on the couch and let his anger boil over until he returned to his normal jovial self. Rose gave Scorpius a gentle glance, which he missed since his back was turned, before she hurried after James and Albus. Luckily, when James left the scene, so did all the spectators. Violet was the last to leave and seemed to be waiting for her boyfriend. Then, she gave Lily a once-over, tilted her head to the side, shrugged, turned on her heel and walked off too, like she figured little Lily Potter was no threat to her so she didn't have to worry. Lily was slightly offended.

Now alone with Scorpius, she found him kneeling on the snow picking up the objects that had been spilt from her bag. "Sorry about my brother," she apologized, kneeling down to help gather her items.

"What? Oh that. Yeah, I've learned to just ignore James Potter," Scorpius said off-handedly. "But I should be the one apologizing. I didn't purposely knock _you_ down, but I was hoping to knock down your bag so in the confusion, I could return this." He inconspicuously slid the invisibility cloak into her bag. "Also, I wanted to thank you for earlier."

"You owe me _double _now."

"Why always keep track of scores and debts? Isn't gratitude enough?"

"No," Lily stated curtly, not really in the mood for Scorpius's sarcasm right now. She placed everything back into her bag and stood up to walk back to Hogwarts. With all the students gone, Hogsmeade was starting to look like a ghost town.

He put up his arm to block her from walking away. "You're mad at me. Why are you mad at me?"

But she wasn't mad at him. No, she was just in way over her head. It was the typical tale: a naïve girl fell for a boy way out of her league, and even though she knew she didn't have a chance, she still can't summon the strength to tell him no. Because underneath the rude, arrogant Scorpius Malfoy is a boy who cares, a boy with a story half told, a boy Rose (and Lily) fell in love with, a boy that the rest of the world doesn't believe to exist. "It's nothing. I'm just tired. Let's go."

"Wait, you forgot something…" Scorpius bent down to pick up the flowerpot that somehow landed right-side up on the snow and Lily realized much too late that it was the Amazonian Dewflower. Immediately, the flower began to affect Scorpius and he trailed off, lost in thought.

Now, Liily could let Scorpius hold it, let the magical scent of the flower put him in a trance. She could find out, here and now, if he had anything remotely close to romantic feelings for Lily. That's why Madame Belina gave her the Dewflower.

But what if he didn't? What if he only held love for Rose, or Violet, and Lily is only the little sister figure whom he liked to amuse on occasion? What if she meant next to nothing to him? She didn't think she could handle knowing the truth. Thus, she took the flowerpot back instead and placed it in her bag. "Come on, we better hurry. They'll be wondering where we are."

Scorpius blinked a few times, his eyes back in focus. Fortunately, he didn't question her any further about the flower and the duo marched back to Hogwarts side by side. Their shoulders brushed against each other and he purposely bumped into her so then she bumped him back and they raced each other back to the castle and of course Scorpius won, his legs were like twice as long as Lily's. Filch gave both disapproving frowns, told them they were severely late, and next time he would revoke both their Hogsmeade privileges. Filch ordered both back to their towers and Scorpius and Lily left with parting waves.

Later, when Lily took out her Amazonian Dewflower and set it on her windowsill, as Madame Belina had advised, she thought that maybe for now, just this secret friendship with Scorpius would be enough. And if worse comes to worst, she could learn to get over him if need be. Or she hoped she could anyway.


	4. The Fall

**note: **super super super super super sorry for the last month that i've been AWOL. i would make up an excuse and tell you my computer crashed, but the truth is, i've just been busy with school and this chapter was really difficult to write. i rewrote it several times and i think i'm finally satisfied enough to update. this chapter is LOADED with hints and clues and foreshadowing of future plot-twists, so let's see how many of them you catch ;)

* * *

><p><span>chapter four<span>  
><em>the fall<em>

Lily didn't really see much of Scorpius the rest of her third year. Scorpius, Rose, Albus, and the rest of the fifth years seemed to have disappear off the face of the earth as they all crammed for their upcoming O.W.L.'s. Lily welcomed this break from the constant drama, which accompanied being in love with a boy who is cheating on his girlfriend with your cousin.

She can't find it in herself to admit this to anyone, not even Molly.

Or, rather, especially not Molly.

After the last O.W.L.'s are finished, however, Lily does have to face the inevitable and finally see Scorpius again in the final Quidditch Cup match, Griffyndor versus Slytherin. In a bold, last-minute game plan change, James decided to switch Lily and Rose, placing Lily as Keeper and Rose as Chaser. Complaints immediately came for all teammates about how it was just _days _before the big match, how Lily has never played Keeper in her life before, how they should stick with their original solid strategy. But James wouldn't hear of it and performed his whole "I'm the team captain" spiel, saying how he knew what his little sister was capable of and how he was playing everyone to their strengths. Still, when the big day came and all the team members mounted their brooms for a lap around the field, Lily Potter was the most nervous of all.

When she settled in her new Keeper spot, she squinted against the sun at the stands. As always, Molly, Cressida, Gwen, Roxanne, Albus, and Hugo were a rowdy bunch, jumping in their seats, waving their arms like lesser evolved species, and cheering the Gryffindors on with excessive gusto. The Ravenclaw entourage following Lucy and the Scamanders were also there; it seems like they've permanently latched on and the two groups of friends were intermingling into one fearsome cohort. Lorcan and Lysander were appointed official commentators for the Quidditch matches this year and throughout the game, Lysander continued to make comments with an overt Gryffindor bias while Lorcan continued to remind his brother that they were supposed to be neutral.

All too soon, the snitch was released and the quaffle thrown into the air as the match began. Immediately, James and Scorpius took off on their brooms in search of the elusive snitch. Rose and Fred had nice teamwork, passing the quaffle back and forth between each other and scoring three times in rapid succession. However, they were not expecting the Slytherin's secret weapon, Violet Tuckett. Scorpius's snooty girlfriend may look like your average pureblood airhead, but she can beat a bludger like no other. Violet nearly decapitated Rose, on several occasions. (Oddly, it seemed kind of fitting, Lily thought.)

It was a close match, as Lorcan and Lysander's rapid remarks would suggest. Lily successfully blocked five of the six shots, much to everyone's surprise. On his way to chase the snitch, James passed by and gave his sister a proud smile.

Just as Lily barely knocked another attempted goal away and Rose ducked from another Violet attack, the snitch was spotted center field. James and Scorpius quickly lurched up on their brooms in neck-to-neck pursuit. It seemed everyone on the field, and in the audience, held their breath.

Taking this opportunity, the Slytherins tried to score another ten points off a distracted Lily. Luckily, she noticed just in time and flew to the right to block the quaffle.

The next three events happened simultaneously: Lily's fingertips grazed the quaffle as she blocked it, Violet swung with all her strength and sent a bludger straight in Lily's direction, and directly above her head, the two Seekers stretch out their arms towards the snitch and Scorpius's fingers were closer.

Then, because Lily chose to block the goal rather than move out of the way, she knocked the quaffle away just as the bludger knocked onto her head. Her whole bogy rang from the impact, her vision faded to black, her fingers lost strength, and she slipped off her broom, freefalling down…down…

* * *

><p>When Lily awoke again, she thought she was still on the field. All her teammates, family, and friends were crowded around her with concerned expressions. Only when the matron pushed her way up to Lily did she realize that she was actually lying on a bed in the hospital wing and there was thin gauze bandage over her forehead. She tried to sit up and her head protested by feeling as if her brain had been replaced by a thousand sharp needles jabbing her skull. She lied down again.<p>

"What happened?" she asked.

"Lily Potter is hit by a bludger and falls off her broom!" Lysander announced in his commentator voice.

Molly and Lucy both gave him a disapproving look and slapped him on the arm. "You lost consciousness, Lily," Molly explained, "and we were all so scared for you. All the players on the field were so focused on watching James and Malfoy that no one noticed you were falling fifty meters from the sky! I mean, Al was this close to casting a levitation spell—"

"Wait, so did we lose?" Lily interrupted.

This time, Lorcan joined Lysander as they both shouted, "Gryffindors are victorious!"

"But how?" Lily asked, turning to look at James. "I saw that Scorpius was closer to the snitch."

"That's the best part!" Fred exclaimed. "Malfoy _was _closer and we thought for sure we were going to lose. But then, Malfoy was the one who first noticed that you were falling. So at the last second, instead of grabbing the snitch, he dived down on his broom to catch you, Lily! And James caught the snitch!"

There was a lot of cheering, which didn't help Lily's headache one bit. James was the only one who wore a sheepish, apologetic smile, hoping Lily wouldn't say anything but, oh, she was. "Gee, thanks dear brother. I'm glad you'd rather win the Quidditch match than save me from certain death."

James stuck his arms up in defense. "Hey, I didn't see you fall, okay? And besides, when I did realize you were falling, I panicked but then I saw that Malfoy was already flying down to catch you, so I figured I'd catch the snitch and get the game over with. I rushed down right after to see if you were okay, I swear."

And then, in the middle of James's frantic excuses, it finally registered in Lily's mind that _Scorpius lost the game to save her_.

Her heart leaped just a little and a wide smile crept onto her face. James took her smile as an acceptance of his apology and sighed in relief. Everyone began talking about the match again and there was so much elation in the air. Her house just won the Quidditch Cup and Scorpius rescued her. She began imagining her unconscious self in his arms as he gently carried her off his broom—perhaps he carried her all the way to the hospital wing! But as soon as Lily's eyes fell on Rose, all her hopes fell, just like she did, except this time her hopes did crash onto the ground.

_Rose_. Of course.

No one else knew that James had switched the Gryffindor team lineup. Wearing matching uniforms and the new regulation headgear, Lily and Rose would have looked identical. And since Lily has always played Chaser and Rose has always played Keeper, it would only make perfect logical sense that the girl with the billowing ponytail of bright scarlet hair before the three goals was Rose Weasley. _Scorpius only saved her because he thought she was Rose. _

Oh, who was she trying to kid? Her entire friendship with Scorpius spurred from a mistaken identity and it's pathetically stupid to believe a second mistaken identity would change anything; she never had a real chance with him anyway.

But oh, who was she trying to kid? Habits die hard in her stubborn and Lily was never going to get over Scorpius, not completely. (Trust her, she knows from experience.)

The nurse returned and ushered everyone out of the infirmary, muttering how this was a hospital wing not a playhouse, and one by one Lily's friends piled out the door. Rose was last to leave and every few steps, she would cast a glance in Lily's direction. She was no doubt wondering _why_ Scorpius would rescue Lily. Technically, Lily and Scorpius were supposed to be strangers. But then again, technically, Rose and Scorpius were supposed to be strangers too. Neither was going to confess, so Rose said nothing, gave Lily a small grin, a silent touché, and opened the door to leave.

"Rose," Lily called.

"Hmm?"

"Scorpius…he really isn't that bad." She meant it as the last word, because two can play at this game. Some lingering element of cousin rivalry was creeping back again.

But Rose's face only broke into a genuine smile. "No, he really isn't."

Then Rose slipped out of the room. The door quietly shut behind her. Technically, Lily had an unfair advantage, since she knew Rose's secret when Rose didn't know hers. But it's Rose Weasley after all, so she'll figure it out. In fact, she'll probably deduce everything and realize Lily is smitten with Scorpius too. And when that happens, well, Lily thinks she's known all along that this mess won't be over without a fight.

* * *

><p>Summer came like a beautiful interlude. It was nice to be back home. Moreover, it was nice to be away from <em>everything<em> and simply relax, just Lily and her family and the warm rays of sun. Lily hummed as she unpacked her things in her room. When she reached the dewflower, she carefully took the flower pot and set it on her windowsill. She took a step back, admired the way the sunshine illuminated the bright petals.

Some days she and Albus would go the lake near their house, where they used to play pirates when they were younger. Other days, she would stay at home, baking with her mother and never realizing how much she had missed her mother until she was back home. Once, she even Flooed to visit Hugo on a whim and convinced him to go roam the Muggle streets with her.

Among all these lackadaisical escapades, Lily had inadvertently stopped thinking about Scorpius. Turns out, she was quite good at avoiding people if she _didn't _put her mind to it. Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe it was her subconscious mind telling her that this whole Scorpius affair was becoming so tiring, really, and she needed the break. She was still young, not even fourteen yet, and she had all the time in the world to just be.

She was doing such a good job of not thinking about Scorpius that she had almost forgotten all about him, until he suddenly stepped out of her fireplace one afternoon.

Teddy and Victoire were getting married that day and the Potters were getting ready for the big wedding. Well, all the Potters minus the youngest, who was currently sitting upside-down on a living room chair with her feet dangling over the top and her hair pooling around her head on the rug. Her father had spent an entire fifteen minutes trying to figure out what was the matter and why Lily refused to get dressed for the wedding, or even sit right-side up on the chair for that matter. But like all clueless fathers, he was quite unsuccessful in breaking through to his daughter so he let her be, walking back upstairs and calling over his shoulder that if Lily stayed in that position, all the blood would go to her head and she'd faint. Which then evoked a snide comment from James about how there was nothing in that big head of hers, so Lily should be fine.

Lily shut her eyes in frustration and remained put. The last time she pulled this sit-upside-down-in-protest stunt was when she was nine years old and upset over the fact that Albus was going to Hogwarts too and she would be stuck home by herself. So, maybe she was acting a bit immature and unreasonable, but in her defense, one of her childhood dreams was being obliterated today.

She heard James scuffing his feet towards her. "Leave me alone," she warned through closed eyes. "And if you try to carry me away, I _will _bite you."

"Duly noted."

She opened her eyes in alarm because that voice was definitely _not _James. From her angle, she saw an upside-down Scorpius standing before her, chuckling at her actions, as if he was purposely making a hobby out of catching Lily at the most awkward moments. In embarrassment, she quickly swung her legs over and flipped off the chair, surprisingly landing on her feet, in a move more suave than she had intended. She wobbled a bit because her father was right after all—all the blood had pooled to her head and now her legs were numb.

"Scorpius. What are you doing here?"

Before he could answer, the fireplace rumbled and Draco and Astoria Malfoy followed their son out into the Potter's living room floor. At the noise, James and Albus rushed downstairs and the three siblings gave each other frantic looks because no one had the slightest inkling as to why the Malfoys were suddenly in their house, unannounced and (presumably) uninvited.

"Hello dears," Astoria greeted, trying to resolve the tense silence that filled the room. Lily and Albus were too shocked to remember to be hospitable and James was too shocked to be rude. "Your father invited us to the wedding," Astoria explained, "but we thought we should come here first and arrive with you together. Your father has been very respectable to us ever since the war, but…well…there are still some _hostile _feelings between the Weasleys and us."

Leave it to their good old father to invite the Malfoys to his godson's wedding out of courtesy. Tomorrow's _Daily Prophet _will snatch this story up, probably wrongly calling it a "brilliant political maneuver" or something of the sort. But it's not political at all, it's just Harry Potter.

Thankfully, Harry and Ginny came downstairs before James could say something stupid and add hostile feelings between the Potters and the Malfoys too. The adults greeted each other and turns out, Harry and Ginny both thought the other had informed the kids about this when in reality neither did. Now Lily was frozen in her spot, avoiding eye contact with Scorpius, trying to analyze his expression with her peripheral vision. It's been over a month since she's seen him last at the Quidditch game and even longer since she's actually spoken to him. Scorpius appeared to have grown even taller, even more mature. His stylish silver suit matched his eyes and oh yes, Scorpius Malfoy should definitely be in formal wear more often for the greater good of the British female population… Lily suddenly became self-conscious, feeling overwhelmingly childish and scrawny in comparison. He's sixteen now and never more out of reach.

"Lily!"

She snapped out of the daze she didn't know she was in. To her surprise, the living room was empty except for a slightly concerned and mostly amused Scorpius snapping his fingers in front of her face. She pushed his hand out of the way. "Where is everyone?"

"Were you not paying any attention? They all left to the wedding already," he responded, pointing to the fireplace behind them. "Are you coming or not? Considering that you're wearing jeans and a Holyhead Harpies t-shirt, I'm assuming that would be a 'no.'"

His question reminded her of the aforementioned childhood dream and she was overwhelmed by nostalgic sadness once more. She sat down on the chair again—right-side up this time—and emphatically crossed her arms over her chest. "That would be a correct assumption."

For a terrible moment, she thought he was actually going to Floo away and abandon her. But he didn't; he walked over and leaned against the armrest of the sofa opposite Lily. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

Scorpius nodded and didn't pester her further. After an excruciatingly long pause, he suddenly spoke again. "So, Lily, fallen off any other brooms lately?"

"You…you knew it was me?" she asked. Her eyes widened and her heart swelled with something like hope rising. "But Rose and I switched positions for the last game and there's no way you could have known…"

"I already mistook you for Rose once, remember? I think I learned from my mistake."

There was a certain amount of triumph in that, in knowing that Scorpius Malfoy could identify Lily simply by her presence. She beamed with a victorious smile. "Thanks for saving me and, you know, not letting me turn into a puddle of broken bones."

"Well, my heroism cost the Slytherins the Quidditch Cup so if I get voted off the team next year, I will hate you forever."

"Hey, it's not my fault—!"

"Relax Potter, I was joking." He laughed and mocked her upset reaction, she glared at him, and he shoved her aside so he could sit down on the chair beside her. She was about to retort that this was a single-person chair, but on second thought, this meant she got to sit unbelievably close to Scorpius and she wasn't going to complain about that. "Okay look, I know you're my little confidant, but our friendship works vice versa. You can tell me your secrets too," he said, giving her a small nudge.

"Alright," she sighed. "Don't laugh at me, but truth is, I can't bring myself to go to the wedding because I've always had this crazy dream that _I _would marry Teddy when I grew up."

She winced, waiting for him to ridicule her. Instead, he was oddly emotionless. "Are you still in love with him?" he asked.

"Of course not. It was just a pathetic childhood fantasy. Teddy used to call me his little princess." She smiled at the fond memories. "I thought I got over it, but apparently there's a six-year-old part of me that still hasn't let go."

"It's not pathetic. If it makes you feel better, when I was little I used to be obsessed with Victoire."

Maybe it was hypocritically rude of her to make fun of Scorpius when he was so considerate to her, but she couldn't help it. She burst out laughing at the thought of Scorpius and Victoire. Talk about never-gonna-happen, she is lightyears out of his league. It did make her feel better though. It seemed like every time she's with Scorpius, she learns a little more about the true person behind the name and she can't help falling more and more in love with the boy she's discovering.

"Thanks, Scorpius. Let's go to that wedding."

Scorpius smirked, which Lily's come to know means he is planning on doing something devious. Before she had the chance to escape his grasp, he put his arms underneath her and hoisted her up from the chair, ignored her embarrassingly high-pitched squeals, and walked away as if he was intent on carrying her all the way to the wedding. But he suddenly stopped short and placed her on her feet again. He hastily stepped away and pulled his arms stiffly to his sides.

"Please don't bite me."

* * *

><p>Lily and Scorpius arrived just as the procession was about to start. Upon Victoire's request, the wedding took place at Shell Cottage, where Victoire had grown up as a child and where Lily herself had spent many summers. Rows of chairs were arranged on the beach with the middle aisle leading up to a majestic garden gazebo altar decorated with ribbon and hyacinth flowers. Guests were already gathered around, settling into the rows. Scorpius had already found Rose in the crowd and he dashed off in her direction, with hardly a wave goodbye to Lily. However, Rose did notice Lily walking in with Scorpius and the two cousins made eye contact. Perhaps it was just the summer sun, but Lily could have sworn there were suspicion and a little worry in Rose's eyes.<p>

Lily walked off in the opposite direction, saying hello to their friends and dodging pestering relatives. Soon, she spotted Molly, Roxanne, and Hugo sitting in the second row. But as she walked towards her cousins, two dashingly dressed Scamanders blocked her path. "Little Lil!" Lysander shouted.

"Hi guys," she said, carelessly pushing the two aside so she could walk by. Two steps later, her brain registered the fact and she retracted her steps to look at the twins again. "Wait a second. Lorcan, why are you wearing Lysander's glasses?"

"Oh damn it, Lily," they groaned. "How did you catch on? We were fooling everyone."

She laughed and closely observed the twins. Lorcan and Lysander were identical twins, but they each had such idiosyncratic style and personality that people never confused the two. Lorcan was the more understated of the duo and always kept his short hair in refined soft curls, whereas Lysander was the outrageously whimsical one and wore wide-rimmed glasses and liked to spike his hair up. Yet today, it was Lorcan who donned the trademark glasses and spiked his hair and it was Lysander who sported the classy vest and bow-tie and kept his hair flat. They could totally pass for one another. If it wasn't for the uncharacteristic twang in "Little Lil" from Lorcan, Lily herself would not have noticed the switch.

"And why are you impersonating each other?" she asked curiously.

The real Lysander, dressed as Lorcan, shrugged. "No reason in particular. Sometimes, especially in big gatherings like these, we like to do this and see how many people we can fool, just for the hell of it."

"Today has been very successful," the real Lorcan, dressed as Lysander, added. "Even Lucy didn't catch on."

"You guys are unbelievable." She watched the twins wander away to confuse poor Uncle Ron before she turned around and joined her cousins at last.

Rose wasn't the only one who saw Lily's entrance with Scorpius. Molly and Roxanne gave Lily accusatory stares that she couldn't shrug away. She wished they would be more understanding and less judgmental, that's all.

The musicians began the joyful melody and the ceremony commenced. Victoire looked absolutely breathtaking in her gown while Teddy beamed like the luckiest bloke in the whole wizarding world. As expected, it pained Lily to watch them exchange vows, but when the new husband and wife kissed, Lily felt liberated. She had finally gotten over her silly infatuation with Teddy. But when she watched the happy couple walk back down the aisle, she caught sight of Scorpius and Rose and was struck with a frightening thought: does this mean she would only ever get over Scorpius by watching him marry another woman? What a depressing way to go.

After the wedding, the rows of chairs were magically transformed into round dinner tables for the reception and after-party. And someone just had the brilliant idea to place Lily, Scorpius, and Rose's families all at the same table. (It's a good thing Violet wasn't invited to this wedding because the table couldn't fit another girl who fell for Malfoy.)

Around them, all the other tables were full of cheerful conversations, which is why Lily didn't notice the strange silence that had fallen upon their table like a curse. When she looked up, Rose, who _just happened _to be sitting beside Scorpius, was staring at him with such longing, lust-filled eyes. She gradually leaned closer and closer to him as he nervously leaned away. Panic was evident in Scorpius's eyes. Has Rose gone mad? There are people watching! But then Lily looked around the table and saw that everyone was acting weird as well. Aunt Hermione was blushing profusely and Draco Malfoy's eyes held an unfocused gaze, and that's when Lily noticed the bright flower pinned to James's suit jacket as a boutonniere.

Earlier, she had been too preoccupied with the fact that Scorpius Malfoy was in her house to realize that James had the dewflower on his jacket. _That's _why she had drifted into a daze and didn't see her family leave. _That's _why Rose looked like she wanted to molest Scorpius right now. _That's _why, unless Lily does something quick, things were going to end really badly.

"Hey, they're playing music!" Lily exclaimed. She jumped up and ran around the table, trying to get rid of the adults. "Dad, you should go dance with Mum. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, you should dance too. And while we're at it, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, why don't you join them too?"

Either the dewflower was really kicking in or Lily was more convincing than she thought, because the six adults left to dance almost immediately. After Lily pushed the last of the adults towards the dance floor, she hurried over to Rose and held her back just as she was about to jump onto Scorpius's lap. "Guys, I need your help," Lily cried.

"What is going on?" Albus asked.

Pinching her nose so she doesn't breathe in the scent of the dewflower, Lily ran over to James and rashly pulled the dewflower off his jacket. "James is an idiot and decided to steal my Amazonian dewflower, that's what's going on," she explained in a nasally voice.

"It's just a flower, calm down," James said.

"Just a flower? The dewflower is an extremely powerful flower whose nectar is used in love potions. It makes people act crazily, sensibly in love. Exhibit A, Rose Weasley!"

As if on cue, Rose launched Scorpius again. This time, Albus held Rose back and Scorpius stood from his chair and took a few precautionary steps away.

"Wait, wait, wait, _Rose is in love with Malfoy_?" James asked.

A look of sheer horror passed over Scorpius's face. He locked eyes with Lily across the table and pleaded her to help him.

"Um…er…no…see, the dewflower just makes you act in love and Scorpius just happened to be closest to Rose when she inhaled the flower scent." Props to Lily, that lie was so legitimate-sounding, she almost believed it herself. "So please, James, you're the only one who is of age here and can use magic. Get rid of that flower and make Rose snap out of it."

James set the dewflower on the ground, took out his wand, and said "_Diffindo!_" The flower burst into a puff of brightly-colored dust, which faded with the wind. Lily released her hold on her nose. Turning to Rose, James deliberated on which spell to use and finally just went with "_Aquamenti!_", blasting a stream of water on Rose's face. A bit elementary, but it worked nevertheless. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Rose blinked awake from her dewflower-induced state.

"Sorry Rose," Lily said, "you had a little something on your face."

James, Albus, and Scorpius laughed loudly and if Rose wasn't suspicious before, she sure as hell was now.

* * *

><p>It was few minutes past midnight and Lily was aimlessly strolling along the beach, holding her shoes in her right hand and relishing the feel of the sand under her toes.<p>

The wedding as a whole was a great success, aside from the dewflower mishap. Behind her, the lights and music from the dance floor filled the quiet night air. By now, her parents and all the other adults were no doubt drunk from the firewhiskey and telling embarrassing stories to each other about their children. Previously, Lily had been dancing with her cousin Louis, which was great fun and all, but the entire wedding atmosphere was beginning to be suffocating. When she snuck away, the only pairs remaining on the dance floor were the bride and groom themselves, Lily's mum and Uncle Charlie, Rose and Lysander, and Molly and Lorcan.

A small ocean breeze blew the strands of Lily's hair and she shivered in her strapless dress. She paused, turned to face the waves, and watched the moon's reflection dance in the waters.

When she heard scuffing footsteps approaching and felt someone drape a sleek jacket over her shoulders, she didn't even react—she had basically predicted he would come. Because he always has this knack of showing up when she wanted to be alone, playing nice guy and Lily always ends up falling for his latent sincerity. Still, his overtly cliché gesture was oddly reassuring.

"You didn't dance with Rose?" she asked.

He gave a short nervous laugh. "Not after James's accusation earlier with the dewflower."

"I'm sure they wouldn't have noticed. People are more oblivious than you'd think."

"Maybe. But Scamander is her real boyfriend after all and I can't exactly barge in on her and Mr. Hotshot Hipster Glasses."

She chuckled at his astute description of Lysander and pulled the jacket tighter around herself against the chill.

"Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for lying for me back there. You saved me big time."

"That's how many favors you owe me now?"

"I saved your life when you fell from the broom. I think that counts as an infinity of favors. You're the one who is now forever in debt to me."

What he said was inarguably true, but it's not like Lily was ever going to be in debt to anyone else. "Why always keep track of scores and debts? Isn't gratitude enough?" She smiled cheekily.

He rolled his eyes as she repeated his exact words from months ago. "Lily Potter, you really are something. How about we just call it even?"

"Deal."

They shook hands and conversation fell to a comfortable lull. Feeling especially bold, she rested her head on his shoulder. And he let her.

"There's something I wanted to ask you," Scorpius said tentatively. "How come only Rose was affected by the dewflower?"

"No, the parents were affected too. The dewflower only enhances the love that's already there, so of course my brothers are immune because they're oafs and they're not in love with anyone."

When Scorpius froze up, Lily lifted her head to look at him. His face was emotionless again. "Then does that mean…_I'm _not in love either?"


	5. The Drift

if you all hated me, that is perfectly justifiable. sorry for the once-a-month-updates. good news is this chapter is the last of the whole developing lily and scorpius's friendship thing. next chapter we dive into juicy stuff. thanks for being patient and sticking around, next chapter up soon (she said, hopefully.)

* * *

><p><span>chapter five<span>  
><em>the drift<em>

The last weekend of August was solely dedicated to the highly anticipated Annual Weasley Family Reunion Campout—and here, "campout" involved not so much wilderness or adventure but more like assembling the old family tent in the Burrow's yard because that's close enough—a tradition started ten years ago when the parents frankly didn't want to deal with overly excited children talking and laughing until sunrise anymore, to which Ron Weasley offered the ingenious idea of throwing all the kids into a tent and calling it a night.

Nevertheless, it was Lily's favorite event all year. Nothing celebrated the end of summer and the start of another year at Hogwarts better than the campout with her cousins.

That would be why, when the Potters arrived at the Burrow Friday afternoon and Lily sprinted straight for the tent, she was shocked and disheartened to find it completely interior was still magically expanded far beyond its actual dimensions. Like always, sets of bunk beds lined the sides of the tent, each mattress topped by a personalized initial-embroidered pillow, knitted by Grandma Molly herself. Everything was still exactly the same campout Lily's always loved, except no one was there.

"Are we the first ones here?" she asked, turning back to her grandmother who was standing in the entrance of the tent giving Lily a small, sad smile.

"Ron and Hermione should be here any minute now with the kids. Lucy and Molly will be here later; they have to wait for their father to get home and we all know how busy Percy is these days," her grandmother explained.

"And the others?" Lily wrapped an arm across her chest, almost as if to shield herself from the answer. This was grandma's 'bad news' face.

"The others…aren't coming."

Lily tried not to be too disappointed, or at least mask her true feelings, but she obviously isn't very good at hiding emotions since everyone rushed to console her like she was a child.

"It's okay, Lily," Albus said, patting her shoulder, "we're still going to have an awesome time."

"Yes, and here come Rose and Hugo now!" Ginny said cheerfully.

"Besides, you still have me," James said cheekily.

Lily waved off her family and stepped back. "It's fine. Really." Then she climbed onto her bunk, the one above Hugo's like always. She just sat there, clutching onto her pillow with the purple _L_, and realized for the first time just how old everyone was becoming. Everyone was graduating and off achieving greatness and leaving Lily utterly in the dust, with hardly a backward glance.

She thought about how fast time had flown right on by, without any warning or even waiting for her permission. It's like her childhood had purchased a Firebolt and zoomed right out of her grasp. It seemed just yesterday they were all kids, running around the tent playing hide-and-seek and chasing each other with toy broomsticks. The tent used to be their haven, their escape. But now, one by one they're becoming employed adults who can't be bothered with trivial things like backyard campouts with juvenile cousins. Victoire and Teddy were _married,_ Dominique was an herbologist working to protect endangered plant species, Louis was a report for _The Quibbler_, Fred was planning on trying out for professional Quidditch teams next season, and James, you'll never believe it, had been hired to work for the Ministry. James, in the_ Ministry! _Maybe he was only hired partly because he's Harry Potter's son and partly because Uncle Percy is the Minister of Magic, but hey, that's just Lily's theory.

Even though Lily is the youngest of them all, she still felt the tug of time as it forced her to grow up, too. But it's not fair if you think about it, and even though Lily sort of understands that her cousins need to focus on their new careers, she can't help feel the slightest bit abandoned. Time can just shut up and mind its own business because Lily can grow up at her own pace, thank you very much, and besides, she's not quite finished being young.

Later that night on her bunk bed, Lily lay wide-awake, staring at the night sky through a small opening in the tent. Ever since Molly had fallen asleep in the bunk next to hers twenty minutes ago, Lily had no one else to talk to. Even the ever-effervescent Roxanne, who had wheedled her way into coming to the campout at the last minute, had dozed off in the bed below Molly. Lily remembered when everyone used to stay up all night playing chess or telling ghost stories, but this year, they didn't even make it past midnight.

This year's campout was proving to be worst campout yet.

Or perhaps she's just getting older too.

Lily sighed and rolled onto her stomach, away from the sky. She has seen brighter stars, anyway.

* * *

><p>September 1st couldn't have arrived sooner. There was a big disorderly conglomeration as Albus, Rose, Lucy, Hugo, Molly, Roxanne, and Lily hurriedly ran around giving hugs to all the other relatives. It was a mathematics permutation word problem come to life, right here on Platform 9 and ¾. This year, James and Fred joined the ranks of graduates who would not board the Hogwarts Express, and the two of them looked down upon their younger cousins with a noble air. Lily ignored them the best she could and clung onto the six others. They might slip away too and leave her all alone.<p>

The train's whistle blew once and the seven youngest Weasley-Potters boarded the train. Albus and Rose were the new Gryffindor prefects this year (here, Lily and Hugo had scoffed and mocked them for being uptight goody two-shoes, because that's what younger siblings are required to do) so they walked towards the head of the train to the prestigious prefects-only cabin. The others quickly found Cressida Finnigan and Gwen Wood in a cabin nearby and all piled in, waving last goodbyes to their family outside the window. Two more final whistles and the train began to slowly chug forward.

Suddenly, two figures dashed across the platform, racing after the train. On second glance, Lily realized with a start that it was Scorpius and his father. She watched as Scorpius ran and jumped onto the steps just before it really picked up momentum. By some miraculous feat, Draco Malfoy threw Scorpius's trunk and by an even greater miraculous feat, Scorpius actually caught the trunk. Scorpius then stumbled his way into the hallway of the train while Draco sighed in relief and stopped to catch his breath.

Aunt Hermione, who was closest to Draco, gave him a small nod, as if to acknowledge his existence, and he nodded back in a similar fashion. Something not quite hostile but very much tense passed between the two before they disappeared from sight as the train sped forward. Lily tried to imagine how Draco and Aunt Hermione would react if they ever found out their children were dating in secret. Probably something less placate and more explosive.

Scorpius briefly wandered up and down the train before he caught sight of Lily through the cabin door. He smiled, gladly opened the door, and just in case it wasn't already apparent enough to the world that Scorpius Malfoy and Lily Potter were in cahoots, he said, "Hey Lily, mind if I join you?"

Well, of course _Lily _didn't mind. She's sort of in love with the boy, remember? She would have shoved Hugo off the seat so Scorpius could sit down. But her friends and cousins certainly did mind. They all turned to stare at Lily, just daring her to say yes. When she didn't respond anything at all, Molly promptly stood up in huff. "Lily, you are so unbelievable sometimes." She turned, her red curls whipping out behind her head, and walked out the cabin, "Come on Lucy, let's go sit with Lorcan and Lysander."

Molly exited with such aggression, Scorpius quickly hopped out of the way of her wrath. She dragged her sister along with her, but at least Lucy gave Lily an apologetic glance, like _what can you do?_ In the awkward silence that followed, Roxanne muttered some excuse about finding her Hufflepuff friends and followed Molly out.

"Fantastic," Lily remarked sardonically, "just all leave, because that makes Scorpius feel like the most welcomed person in the world."

Scorpius slowly walked over and stiffly sat down beside Lily. Like a see-saw, Cressida stood just as soon as he sat, as if it was not physically possible for Cressida and Scorpius to both be sitting down at the same time. "Um, I…" Cressida timidly stammered, glancing at the door, "Look, I'm sorry. I mean, it's not you Scorpius, it's…no offense." She swiftly walk out with her head tucked so low that her chin touching her chest.

Lily sighed as the door slid shut. At least Gwen and Hugo had the decency to stay, even if it was only because they didn't have viable excuses to leave.

"I apologize for my rude cousins," Lily said. "They aren't awful people, I promise. They just can't see past the stereotype son-of-an-ex-Death-Eater."

"That's okay," he replied, "I"m used to it."

And that is the saddest thing Lily has ever heard.

"I would have sat somewhere else, but Violet and Ro—uh, Violet, you know, my girlfriend, was named prefect this year and my friends are still slightly bitter about the whole losing the final Quidditch game to save a Potter thing..." Scorpius rambled on to cover up his slip in fear that Hugo will realize Scorpius was actually seeing his sister. Thankfully, Hugo didn't seem to realize much of anything.

Suddenly, the bundle of Scorpius's jacket began to move and a small ginger-colored kitten sprang up onto Lily's lap before she even had the proper chance to react. Because nothing rescues an awkward moment better than a surprise attack from a kitten. Obviously.

Lily uncertainly poked the little cat-fiend, in fear that it might decide to attack again and jump onto Lily's head. But the kitten only purred and rubbed its head against Lily's hand in a terribly adorable way. Lily immediately softened up to the kitten and pet it's soft orange fur. Gwen, in her seat on the opposite bench, leaned over and played with the little poofball of cuteness along with Lily. The kitten was a high-class attention whore and sauntered around the cabin demanding everyone to coo over it. The kitten made its way to Hugo's lap but you could tell Hugo was trying to resist the cat, because if he accepted the cat, then that would be like metaphorically accepting Scorpius Malfoy. Then, on second thought, Hugo decided screw it and picked up the kitten watching it playfully claw the air.

"Alright Malfoy, I guess you're not so bad. I mean, no one can be considered remotely close to evil if he owns a cat that is so ridiculously cute."

"I know right?" Scorpius exclaimed.

Lily and Gwen rolled their eyes at this infallible Hugo logic.

"And there's also the fact that you saved Lily's life," Hugo added as an afterthought.

"So what's his name?" Lily asked when the kitten returned to Lily's lap and settled down to nap for the rest of the train ride.

Scorpius looked away and a soft blush crept across his cheeks. And this is Scorpius Malfoy we're talking about here, the boy with eyes like granite, who always gets Lily flustered but never the other way around. This moment was such a rarity that Lily snatched onto it and refused to let go. Something was most definitely up.

"What's his name?" Lily asked again.

"She's a girl," he muttered. "And her name...is...Sapphire."

"I don't believe you."

"Stop staring at me like that, Lily. It's creeping me out!"

But the second he spoke the word 'Lily', the kitten raised her head, lazily glanced at Scorpius, then went back to sleep. Lily (the girl, not the cat) widened her eyes before settling into a victorious grin. Hugo was guffawing. Gwen tried to keep her composure but she was evidently stifling giggles. Appalled, Scorpius slid down the bench as far away from Lily as possible and his face turned the approximate color of Lily and Hugo's hair.

Lily slid down after him until she pressed against him. "You named your cat after me?" she half-sang in derision.

Scorpius irritatedly pushed her away. "I...it's just..._oh, shut up!_...okay, so when I saw the orange fur, I thought of your hair, and so Lily was the first name I thought of."

The cat, not finding the situation particularly humorous even though Hugo and Gwen were currently beside themselves in laughter, lowered her furry head and returned to her slumber. Lily petted the adorable fur-ball with a killer smile on her face and wondered if Scorpius knew that the quickest way to a girl's heart is to name a kitten in her honor.

He playfully flicked Lily on the head. "You're probably going to harass me about this forever."

"Oh, absolutely."

* * *

><p>It was an entire twenty minutes later when Lily remembered that Rose also shared the famous Weasley gene of flaming red hair. Lily and Rose's hair are the exact same shade of scarlet, which, now that she thought about it, was the initial cause for everything in the first place. And yet, when Scorpius saw his new kitten's fur, he thought of Lily and not Rose. That has to count for something.<p>

Obviously, it meant that Scorpius loves Lily, at least just a little.

But hey, that's just Lily's theory.

* * *

><p>A soft rain was pouring down as the train neared Hogwarts Castle. Gwen and Hugo had fallen asleep, with Gwen's head on Hugo's shoulder and his head resting over hers, and Lily may or may not have taken several photos for future blackmail usage.<p>

Lily and Scorpius were playing a game of portable Wizard Chess and Lily was trying her hardest to save herself from total annihilation by Scorpius. She watched helplessly as another one of Scorpius's knights killed her's. The cat slept on peacefully in Lily's lap.

From the glass door of the train cabin, Lily caught sight of Molly and the Scamander twins walking by. Lysander stopped to wave hello but abruptly stopped in surprise to find Scorpius Malfoy. Lorcan was far less affected by the sight and he gave Lily a small shrug and a smile, as if he figured Scorpius would be here. Molly pushed the two to keep moving but not before fixing Lily a quick glare that made Lily feel guilty and betrayed at the same time.

"It's me, isn't it?" Scorpius had his back to the door, but he could tell something was wrong by Lily's crestfallen expression.

"No, no," she insisted, even though it is _completely_ him. "It's just that recently, I've been feeling like my cousins and I aren't as close as we used to be. Like everyone is drifting apart."

"How come?"

"Maturing, I guess. They're all growing older and forming their own identities and here I am." She moved another chess piece to a random spot just for the sake of moving it, for she had long since given up on actually strategizing against this mastermind.

"Here you are," he repeated in a gentle voice. "And so, who is Lily Potter?"

"I don't know."

"You know, I was almost placed in Gryffindor," he said in his non sequitur way of trying to be comforting.

"Oh?"

"I think I always knew I was a Gryffindor at heart. I think the Sorting Hat knew too."

"Then why did you end up in Slytherin?"

"Well, why did you end up in Gryffindor?"

Lily paused and looked up. Scorpius was gazing at her, his grey eyes resembling the dark passion of some new-age Byronic hero. She stammered a bit trying to find the right words. "Maybe I'm like you, then. People can't see past the stereotype daughter-of-Harry-freaking-Potter either."

Scorpius took this opportunity to kill Lily's last remaining knight on the chessboard. The little guy went down without a fight, that jerk. That's the thing with Scorpius Malfoy though; he had this way of tearing down all of Lily's defenses until she was nothing more that just pure, raw, real Lily. He was worse than any Veritaserum she's ever known.

"Why do you like me?" The question escaped her lips before she could clamp them shut. But honestly, why is he always willingly spending time putting up with her, she's like the annoying little sister he never had, a hot mess in an identity crisis.

He only chuckled like a cryptic gentleman. "You're a real spark, Potter."

* * *

><p>When Lily and Scorpius stepped off the train together, they elicited many askance glares and whispered comments and by the time they sat down for the feast, they were already labeled as Hogwarts oddest pair. A sixth-year Slytherin Malfoy best friends with a fourth-year Gryffindor Potter? That's the juiciest piece of gossip the school has had in years.<p>

In the following weeks, Lily learned to grin and bear it. They can't possibly keep staring at her for long. Teenagers had fleeting attention spans and Lily and Scorpius will be old news soon enough. There were rumors, of course there were rumors. But Lily just kept her mouth shut and smirked at the outrageous stories. No one knew exactly how Lily and Scorpius had met or how they became so close. There was a thrill in that, in being a mystery.

The two of them were often seen meeting up in the Astronomy tower or down at the greenhouse with Professor Longbottom and their laughter lingered the hallways. In fact, whenever Scorpius wasn't with Violet or Rose, he was with Lily. The three flowers. Okay, so Lily was still kind of third at best, but she's secretly hoping to work the slow-and-steady angle.

"You like him, don't you?" Hugo had asked one afternoon when he caught Lily staring at Scorpius from across the library.

"But he's attached."

"If you're talking about that Tuckett girl, the you have nothing to worry. Yeah, she's a pretty face, but girls like her don't last forever."

Girls like Rose don't last forever either, Lily had wanted to retort. Or maybe they do, but Lily's going to think that anyways to keep a hopeful mentality.

But no one else knew about Rose. That's the crucial point.

Which is why, just when life seemed to be settling down, Lily was thrown into the fire again. When a scandalous picture of Scorpius kissing a redhead in front of Gryffindor Tower somehow ended up on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_, everyone automatically assumed it was Lily.


	6. The Scandal

chapter six  
><em>the scandal<em>

When Lily woke up that morning, Molly and Cressida were already gone. See, things were still kind of rough between Lily and Molly these days. Ever since the train ride a few weeks ago, the two cousins have been on less-than-amiable terms, but neither was willing to put the better foot forward and apologize because both were too hard-headed, and they both knew it, which is why this was all going absolutely nowhere. Cressida stuck with Molly; it wasn't so much that she liked Molly more than Lily, it was simply because she disliked Scorpius. Gwen stayed on Lily's side and so the dorm was effectively split in two.

Perhaps this is a bit irrational, Lily thought as she looked at the two empty beds across the room. She and Molly were best friends, why were they fighting?

As Lily and Gwen made their way downstairs for breakfast, Lily decided she would at least _try _to make amends with her cousin today. She's certainly not going as far as to lie and say it was all her fault (hello, this was all thanks to Molly's prejudices in the first place) but maybe she can help Molly see past their differences.

But the second they set foot in the Great Hall, Lily knew something was wrong. She had a gut feeling trouble was incoming. That, and the fact that the entire hall silenced with Lily's entrance.

Lily stopped short in the sudden silence. She gave Gwen a puzzled look and Gwen gave a same look in return. Everyone was staring at them, so they hurried along to find a seat. Passing by the Slytherin table, Lily found Scorpius, almost by instinct. He looked miserable and when he saw Lily, he winced and buried his face in his hand like he was too ashamed to face her. He appeared to be shaking. Anxiety built up in her stomach at Scorpius's reaction. What could possibly be so horrible? At the Ravenclaw table, all the students had the same accusatory glare directed straight at Lily. Even Lucy, Lorcan, and Lysander looked disappointed in her. By the time Lily reached the Hufflepuff table, she was practically at a sprint, trying to escape all the eyes on her. Roxanne only gave her a small, pitiful smile.

When she finally reached the Gryffindor table, she realized that all the students were clumped together in groups, apparently peering down at something. A newspaper article. Before Lily could reach her usual spot at the table, Hugo sprang up and ran over to her.

"Hugo, what is going on?" Lily asked, panic rising.

Hugo smiled the same small, pitiful smile and handed her a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. She unfolded the paper and she and Gwen read the bold-faced headline. It's a good thing Gwen was holding the newspaper because Lily would have surely dropped it in shock.

**MALFOY'S SECRET **was typed in all-caps in-your-face-60-point font. But worse, far worse, was the giant picture below the headline that stretched to consume the space of practically the entire front page. The photo was dark, since the sneaky photographer didn't use flash, but the tall, roguish blonde boy with the green tie was unmistakable. And he was also very evidently kissing the bloody hell out of one petite girl with long curls the precise color of flaming, burning, Weasley red. The animated photograph revealed Scorpius hurriedly unbuttoning the girl's blouse and peeling it from her body while the girl fumbled with his tie and pulled at his shirt until his chest was completely exposed.

And just because worse always comes to worst, the picture was also enlarged so much that the small emblem on the girl's clothes (before it was thrown onto the ground) was undoubtedly Gryffindor.

"They…they think that's _me_?" Lily finally croaked out. Well, of course they would think it's her. Every detail in that scandalous photograph pointed to Lily Potter, Scorpius Malfoy's new inseparable "friend." Thin, red-haired, Gryffindor. But did it never occur to anyone that more than one girl matches the description?

She looked up from the paper and found her family and friends staring back at her with utter shame in their eyes. In fact, just about every student in Hogwarts was currently staring at her with surprise and penetrating disapproval. Lily Potter, the littlest Potter, screw-up Potter. Every student was silently accusing her, every student except two. She caught Scorpius's gaze once more and now understood his earlier reaction. He looked painfully sorry for dragging Lily down with him, sorry for everything, but sorry wasn't going to save her out of this abyss she'd fallen in. Why didn't he say something? Why didn't he tell everyone this girl in the picture was not Lily? Furthermore, why didn't Rose say anything either? Lily then turned to Rose, trying to absorb every critical glance directed at herself and reflect it back onto Rose.

"Lily." It was Albus now, calling out to her in his calm, older-brother voice, reserved solely for moments like these. "Why?"

The simple question was the pebble that finally broke the weakening dam. Lily broke down, completely and resolutely; she could not keep covering for Scorpius and Rose anymore. It'd be the death of her.

"That's not me," she replied adamantly. "That's not."

"I don't believe this!" Violet Tuckett slammed her fist so hard onto the table that the sound reverberated in the Great Hall. "This whore is actually _denying _it."

Albus automatically stood and shouted back across the hall to the Slytherin table. "My sister is not a whore." At least Albus defended her.

Violet stood as well, shaking her pointed finger at them. "You know what, it's the whole lot of you! You Potters and Weasleys are so damn elitist! You think you're so much better than the rest of us because you're parents are old war heroes, but you're not perfect. You're not righteous. Just look at this! How are you going to explain this? Lily Potter fucked my boyfriend!"

Lily opened her mouth to repeat the truth again, to keep on repeating it until her name was cleared. But something hit her right then, stunning her entire body, and for the life of her she couldn't move her lips or use her voice. The more she struggled, the more her lips seemed bound together. What was happening? Why can't she speak? She panicked, but she no one could help her because she couldn't tell them what's wrong.

She looked at Rose, hoping and pleading for Rose to say something for her and save her from this disaster. This is Rose Weasley after all, the cousin Lily has idolized to her entire life, flawless Rose Weasley who always does the right thing, always. Come on, Rose! Do the right thing _now_!

"If it's not you, then who is it?" Violet continued her irate interrogation from the other side of the hall. "Who else could it be? _Molly_?"

No, not Molly. The other Weasley. The one who was looking back at Lily with the same frazzled, helpless expression. The one who was literally shaking in her seat because her conscience told her she was obligated to tell the truth but something was also forcing her to remain silent. Rose squeezed her eyes shut and tried with all her might but she couldn't break free of the invisible bonds. Then she dejectedly looked at Lily and slowly shook her head.

_They've been cursed_. The realization hit Lily with brutal force. That's the thing that stunned her. Someone had cast a muting spell on Lily and Rose to prevent them from telling the truth. Lily quickly peered at the Slytherin table to confirm her fears and sure enough, Scorpius was sitting there shaking just like Rose and Lily, unable to open his mouth. Someone had cursed all three of them. Which means someone was intentionally making Lily take the blame.

This was sabotage.

When Lily didn't respond, _couldn't _respond, Violet smirked with satisfaction. "Nothing to say? That's what I thought, bitch."

At this, Scorpius finally stood up and roughly grabbed Violet's arm, but he was still rendered mute.

"Don't touch me!" Violet shrieked, jerking away from Scorpius.

"What is going on here?" As the professors hurried into the Great Hall, the rest of the students quickly turned back to their breakfasts and began chatting nervously to cover up the commotion. Violet was still fuming, Scorpius was still unsuccessfully trying to calm her, and Lily was beginning to regret ever agreeing to keep Scorpius and Rose's secret in the first place. The professors restored peace and ushered the students to their first classes of the day. To Lily's surprise, Scorpius's father was with the professors. Draco called out to his son and pulled out his wand, and for a horrible second Lily actually thought he was going to curse his own son, but he lowered the wand again and Scorpius followed him away.

Lily half-expected to find her own father here too—word travels fast and her parents were bound to have found out about this incident already—but when she heard her own name being called, it was only Professor Longbottom. But she was still partially correct: her parents had contacted Professor Longbottom and wanted Lily home immediately.

"But it wasn't me!" Lily gasped at hearing her voice. She hadn't noticed the muting spell being lifted and now she could speak again.

"I know, I know," Professor Longbottom said, but Lily didn't think he meant it. "Come, your parents are waiting."

"Lily, wait!" Lily spun around to see Rose running up to her, throwing her arms around Lily in a tight embrace. _Rose knew_. Rose knew that Lily knew. There's no way Rose didn't know, not after all this drama at least. In a way, Lily was greatly relieved to not have to single-handedly bear the burden of the secret anymore, but she was still slightly sad that the secret wasn't a secret anymore either. Does that even make sense?

"I'm so, so, so sorry! I tried to say something but I—"

"It's okay, it's not your fault," Lily replied. Then, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Rose, who do you think did it?"

Rose pulled back and frowned. "Who cast the spell on us? I have no idea. But we can talk now. Look, I'll go and tell the truth and everything will be okay. I can fix this."

"But Rose."

"No," Rose spoke affirmatively. Lily rejoiced, for it was the old Rose Weasley returning at last. "It's my mess, it's my mistake, and _I can fix this_."

Longbottom just realized Lily wasn't behind him anymore and was now beckoning Lily to hurry. Lily gave Rose one last hug. Someone was ruthlessly pushing Lily down in this whirlwind of scandal and Rose was her last lifeline left.

"You don't think it was Scorpius, do you?" Rose asked softly, like a lingering echo of thought.

Lily shrugged because in the very back of her mind, she was wondering the same thing.

Longbottom called after her once more and Lily finally tore away from Rose, followed her professor away, and prepared for hell at home.

* * *

><p>She had expected, well, what had she expected? Yelling. Scolding. Maybe some tears. House arrest, for sure. She didn't think her parents would go as far as <em>disowning<em> her per se, but the thought did cross her mind.

What she didn't expect was for her mother to pull her into a hug the second she stepped from the fireplace after Flooing home. She didn't expect her father to kiss her forehead and ask her if she wanted any tea, he had made some just for her. And she certainly didn't expect her parents to take her side.

"You mean…you aren't angry?" she asked with utmost caution.

"Why should we be, sweetheart?" Ginny replied.

"Well, I'm not sure if you've heard," Lily said, "but I got caught, uh, you know, doing 'it' with Scorpius Malfoy and now it's on the front cover of the _Daily Prophet_. And you had to leave work to come home and deal with me and—"

"Lily, do you honestly think your own parents can't discern you from your cousin?" Harry asked.

Lily breathed out a massive sigh of relief. It was reassuring to have someone finally believe the truth.

"This is all one ugly mess right now, and I'm so sorry that you somehow wound up in the center of it," Ginny said. "My poor little girl. You're only fourteen! But don't worry Lily, I talked to your Uncle Ron and we will have things straightened out. This whole thing will be over before you know it."

"Wait, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione know too?" Lily gasped.

"Of course. This _is _Rose's affair, after all."

For a second, Lily almost wished that it was herself and not Rose, just because she knew her own parents would be more forgiving than Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione could ever be. Lily's mother did have her own promiscuous past, remember. Besides, Lily was the one with the reputation to spare; perfect Rose couldn't afford a blow like this. A similar thought must have occurred to her father, since Harry was pacing around the room with an anxious expression. Poor Rose.

"So, I guess I'll be staying home?" Lily asked.

"Just for a few days until we settle everything."

Lily nodded and headed up the stairs to her room. She wondered why she didn't tell her parents about the muting curse or that there was someone out there plotting against her. But the way her mother spoke, _just for a few days until we settle everything_, so affirmative and confident, just like Rose, it made Lily believe that maybe they can solve everything. It'll be fine.

Just before she entered her room, she heard her father tell her mother he was going to visit Aunt Hermione, followed by a small pop as he apparated away.

* * *

><p>The next day, Lily awoke from a incessant tapping at her window. It was an owl who has apparently never encountered a glass window before and kept flying into the pane over and over again, as if it thought if it repeated the actions enough times, it will be able to fly through the glass. Lily yawned, walked over, and opened the window. The surprised owl flew in and fell into Lily's lap. She untied the parchment from the owl's leg and saw that it was a letter from Scorpius.<p>

_Lily,_

_So, I heard you're also stuck at home. On the bright side, we don't have to go to classes or do our homework. Or go to Quidditch practice as our teams prepare for our first games of the year, which means we'll probably be cut from our teams when we get back. Fantastic, isn't it? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I've contacted the Daily Prophet and informed them the real identity of my "mystery girl." I've cleared your name. I'm sorry you had to be part of this disaster in the first place, but it's over now. I told the truth. I would have told the truth right then and there in the Great Hall, but I was cursed with a spell, and I think you and Rose were too. There is no way otherwise I would have let Violet say all those vicious things about you. You're innocent, Lily. You always were. I love you for that. We'll get through this together._

_Scorpius_

When Lily read the words "I love you for that", she shrieked a little and dropped the letter. Then, she had to go back and reread the letter, since in her ecstatic joy of being loved by Scorpius, she had forgotten what she had previously read. And then she swooned a little more. There's no way Scorpius can be working against her. He loves her. He's trying to help her. Everything is fine. Rose is going to fix it, her parents are going to fix it, and now Scorpius is going to fix it.

* * *

><p>Three days later, it still wasn't fixed.<p>

Even worse, there was an update article in the _Daily Prophet_ that revealed the rumored speculation of the Hogwarts student body: the girl is none other than Lily Potter!

On Friday, Lily received an owl from Rose.

_Hello Lily. I hope everything is well. Hogwarts is sickeningly boring without you here. Hugo, Al, and I miss you tremendously. I did write a letter confessing that the girl in the picture was me, not you, and I sent it to my mum to give to the Daily Prophet. I don't know why it hasn't been published yet. I've been telling our classmates that it was me, but they don't believe me. They think I'm just covering for you. And still no clue on who cast that spell on us. This is all so infuriating!_

_Love,  
>Rose<em>

On Saturday, Lily received another owl from Scorpius.

_Lily (again),_

_I bet you think I'm a liar now. I swear I did contact the Daily Prophet. They even sent a reporter over the next day to interview me! Father found out forced them to leave before they could finish, but I don't know why they haven't published anything yet. Someone is behind this, and I will get to the bottom of it._

_Scorpius_

Things were really starting to take a sharp turn onto suspicious boulevard. Nothing her parents, or Rose and her parents, or Scorpius and his parents did was working. Her parents had even tried getting the word out through Lily's godmother Luna's small magazine _The Quibbler_, and even that editorial has somehow ended up missing. Lily was willing to bet that the same person who silenced them is now preventing the truth from coming out.

Her suspicions are vastly confirmed on Sunday, when Lily received one last owl, this time from an anonymous sender.

_Lily Potter,_

_I am truly sorry. You're a kind-hearted girl and you've done nothing to deserve this. You are simply a victim of circumstances. I know that the girl in the photograph was Rose Weasley, but this must not be revealed. There would be consequences greater than a spoiled reputation. Sometimes, secrets cannot afford to be exposed. Rather the misunderstanding than the truth. Rather Lily than Rose. I hope that you will understand._

Lily clutched the parchment and read the words over and over again. Consequences greater than a spoiled reputation? Rather the misunderstanding than the truth? Who is this cryptic anonymity, what catastrophic consequence is this person trying to prevent, and why did Lily end up the scapegoat? (Actually, she only had herself to blame for the last one. It's like she had played herself right into this person's plans, having another Weasley red-head as Scorpius Malfoy's best friend. How convenient.)

"Lily dear…what's that?" Ginny said, as she walked into the room.

Lily quickly lowered the letter and casually placed it on her desk. "Oh, nothing. Rose sent another letter. I was just going to write back."

"No need," Ginny responded with a smile, "Your father and I were thinking, how would you feel going back to school tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? That soon?"

"It's basically hopeless trying to get through to the press these days. And Neville Longbottom said that the scandal has already died down at school. I know it will be really difficult the first day back, but you can't hide at home forever. You're strong, Lily. You can do this."

"Yeah. I guess I can."

After Ginny left again, Lily turned back to the letter. There was something foreboding about those words, and the severity somehow made it credible. It _could_ be some random bloke playing a huge, elaborate prank on her. But it seemed real to Lily. It was a plea for help, and Lily was actually going to comply. Okay, it's official. Lily Potter is mad. She's pretty sure she's never supposed to sympathize with the person ruining her life, but then again, Lily has had this thing for keeping secrets.

* * *

><p>note: hey guys. look at me switching things up and putting my author's note at the bottom of the chapter. anyway, i'm getting better at updating! i'm doing script frenzy this month, but i'll work super hard to get a new chapter out later this month too. if any of you rad peeps are also doing script frenzy, add me as a writing buddy (my username is havochaos.)<p>

thanks so much for reading, guys. lily/scorpius all the way. a lot of you are hating on rose, but i think she redeems herself this chapter. and it's not really explicit in this chapter, but scorpius and violet break up, and scorpius and rose too, so rest assured.

also, if you squint and read closely, you'll see that i've drop a BUNCH of hints about who the mystery anonymous person is. first person to correctly identify the mystery person wins infinite life points. and maybe a prize, we'll see. this chapter's hints alone are probably not enough to figure it out, but i'd love to hear your theories :)


	7. The Calm

i just wanted to say thanks for being interested in this story. _the con _is my baby and i think it's actually my favorite fanfic i've ever written to date. the lily potter that i've created has sort of come to life on her own and i love her. i relate to her, you know.

some of you left reviews last chapter trying to guess who the mystery person is, and one reader did correctly identify. i won't say who it is, though ;) unfortunately, this chapter does not really reveal any clues to our mystery person. but, there is one other very important detail in this chapter so let's see if any of you can catch it.

* * *

><p><span>chapter seven<span>  
><em>the calm<em>

Everyone was staring.

In a way, at least Lily can now boast of the ability to part crowds and turn heads too. It's just that in Lily's case, everyone was doing so because they wanted to avoid her like a corruption plague, rather than in admiration of her, but details, details.

Everyone was staring. And talking and pointing and shaking heads. But Lily continued on, remembering the words of her mother. _Stay strong, keep your head up, and don't ever let them get to you. You know the truth and that's all that matters_.

The first day back to Hogwarts was brutal hell. Walking down the hallways felt like walking through dead man's zone. The gawking students probably thought Lily would be pregnant or something. To make matters worse, Scorpius wasn't back to school yet, and her friends and family had all but alienated her after the scandal, so Lily had to fend for herself. Well, she did have Rose, who latched onto Lily the second she returned to Hogwarts, trying to make it up to Lily and defend the truth and even though Rose had the best of intentions, oh Merlin, was she annoying.

"What do you mean, just let it go?" Rose asked. They were eating lunch together, isolated by the rest of the students of course, and Lily was trying to explain why she didn't want Rose to reveal herself as the girl in the picture, without actually telling Rose about the anonymous letter.

"Look, there is obviously some scheme going on and someone is trying to pin the scandal on me," Lily said. "So, until we figure out who that person is, I think we should just play along."

"But Lily. Everyone is treating you horribly and it's all my fault."

"I'm fine. Besides, if you take the blame now, it will only make things even worse. This will all be over before we know it." Lily smiled with feigned confidence.

Rose still wasn't so certain. "I can't make you lie for me, just so you can save my reputation."

"Then go ahead and try to confess the truth. Go ahead and tell everyone, and no one will believe you."

Rose frowned, but didn't argue back because she knew Lily was right. Lily sighed and just hoped she had made the right decision in trusting the cryptic letter-sender. If she was going to all this effort to play hero, it had better be for the right reasons.

* * *

><p>On Friday, Lily was sitting in Potions slicing dandelion roots. As per assigned seating, Molly was next to Lily, gently stirring her own brew, but the two cousins had remained silent the entire class so far. In fact, the past three days Lily had been back, Molly hadn't uttered a word to Lily. Not particularly vicious or inhospitable, just silent. Lily didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one.<p>

As Lily read the textbook to follow the next directions, she realized she had forgotten to get fairy wings for her ingredients, so she walked to the cupboard to retrieve some. When she passed a table of Slytherin girls, however, they all rolled their eyes and scoffed.

"Look who's back," one of them said to her friends. _Said_, not whispered, as if they intentionally wanted Lily and every other student in Potions to overhear.

"I thought she would have been too disgraced to come back," the second one said.

"I thought she had been expelled," the third one added. "That's what Violet told me."

Lily bit her lip, grabbed the jar of fairy wings, and briskly walked back to her table.

"Well," the first one replied, "if she _had_ been expelled and didn't finish school, I'm sure she could still make a decent living as a whore."

The entire Gryffindor-Slytherin class turned to look at Lily, expecting an explosive reaction. But Lily said nothing, just calmly dropped two wings into her potion. _They don't matter_, she repeated the mantra to herself. _They don't matter, they don't matter…_

Professor Higgins sent the Slytherin girls a disapproving glance and was about to open his mouth, reprimanding them and taking twenty points from Slytherin no doubt, when Molly slammed her fist down on the table. Lily literally jumped at the sound.

"Aren't you hilarious," Molly said, spinning around to glare at the three girls. "You're just _feasting_ on this one scandal because it makes you feel so much better about yourself in comparison. You just want to tear Lily down and watch her fall. But she's a Potter, and if you think some words behind her back are enough to break her, then you're sadly mistaken."

Lily stared at Molly in awe. The whole class erupted in cheers at Molly's speech and even the other Slytherin students laughed when Professor Higgins gave the three girls detention. Molly sat back down in her seat and smiled triumphantly at Lily.

"Thank you," Lily whispered. "And I'm sorry for everything." For creating this mess, for dragging Molly down with her, for stealing Lorcan from her and then throwing him away, for being secretive, for her alliance/friendship/_thing_ with Scorpius, for everything.

"I'm sorry too," Molly whispered back.

The two laughed and hugged and made up for the past odd month and only the sound of their cauldrons boiling over made them hurry back to their class work. The Weasley cousins were going to be just fine, not that anyone should have ever expected otherwise.

* * *

><p>"Molly Weasley, you are my hero," Hugo said emphatically.<p>

It was Saturday morning and Lily and her friends went to visit Professor Longbottom, who took no time at all before he employed the students to help plant flowers in the greenhouse. As they worked, Lily gave everyone a detailed account of Molly's kickass confrontation yesterday.

Molly laughed at Hugo's compliment and jokingly performed a curtsey.

"I wish I could've been there to see the look on their faces," Roxanne said. "They must have been so mad."

"Oh, they were raging," Molly nodded.

Cressida came over and stood by Lily's side, giving her a soft nudge with her arm. "Molly's right. Don't listen to what the people say. I bet half of the students here have worse secrets."

Professor Longbottom smiled as he watched the young friends laugh amidst the blossoming flowers. "You're lucky to have such supporting friends, Lily."

Lily beamed. "I couldn't get rid of them even if I tried."

* * *

><p>After the weekend passed, Lily and Scorpius's shocking so-called affair was completely superseded by enthusiastic talk about the first Quidditch game of the year coming up. It was Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor and everyone was eager to see how this year's team lineups would compare. (Lily was just relieved she had become "old news" and wasn't trapped in the fleeting spotlight anymore.)<p>

Lily found Rose studying in the Gryffindor common room and approached her, rambling on with questions about what the game plan would be for the upcoming game, how the team is doing, what she had missed in her week of absence, et cetera. Rose blinked twice, confused, then settled into a small, sad smile.

"Lily," she explained in a gentle voice, "you're not playing this game. Didn't anyone tell you?"

Oh.

Well, certainly no one informed her about this minute detail. Lily clamped her mouth shut and awkwardly sat down. So, this was slightly embarrassing.

"We were practicing all last week, but you were gone, and we only have one more scheduled practice before the game. I mean, it's not like you're off the team, you just won't play for this game, that's all."

Lily nodded in understanding. "But who's taking my spot?"

"Gwen!"

"Gwen?" She peered over at her friend Gwen Wood, talking with Hugo on the other side of the room.

"Yeah. Looks like she does have her father's Quidditch talent in her blood after all. Lily, you should watch her fly, she's a natural."

Lily sighed. How could she be mad at sweet Gwen? If it had been anyone else, she would have accused them of trying to steal her spot on the team, but not Gwen. Lily's just glad Gwen finally got the chance to give her old man a run for his money. Oliver Wood would be so proud.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the common room. As an innocent second-year entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady, a rat scurried in over her feet followed by a small orange kitten in close pursuit. Then, Albus's friend Murray ran after the two animals, nearly pushing the poor girl to the ground.

After a few minutes of comical chasing, Murray finally grabbed his pet rat and saved it from the poofball of a ginger-colored cat-fiend.

"You okay there, mate?" Albus asked, evidently trying to stifle a laugh. Which is more than you can say about Gwen and Hugo, who were wiping tears from their eyes as they laughed. Lily couldn't help it; she let out a small chuckle as well.

Murray clutched his pet rat and glared at the kitten, who simply sat on the rug, looking adorable, licking its paw.

"That thing almost swallowed my rat," Murray exclaimed.

"Yeah, that little thing is a ferocious beast, I can tell," Albus replied sarcastically. He lasted a few more seconds before he broke his composure and doubled over laughing with Gwen and Hugo. The rest of the Gryffindors joined in and Murray scowled, stomping upstairs to his room, but not before cracking a smile too.

The kitten looked around the room before walking over and perching around Lily's feet. Tilting its little head, the kitten peered up at Lily with large eyes.

And then it finally clicked in Lily's mind. The kitten was _Lily_, Scorpius's pet cat whom he named after Lily Potter, much to his embarrassment. And _then_ Lily realized if Lily the cat was back to Hogwarts, then that must mean…

She quickly scooped the furry cat into her arms and walked towards the exit. "I'll be right back," she muttered.

Stepping out of Gryffindor Tower, she scanned the empty corridor before slowly walking towards the Slytherin dungeon. It was getting late and Filch would probably be patroling the hallways soon, so Lily quickened her speed. When she reached stairs that descended into the ominous entrance to the dungeon, Lily paused and looked around uncertainly. She couldn't exactly _enter _the Slytherin common room. And she didn't precisely want to walk down the foreboding-looking stairs either. How was she supposed to find Scorpius?

On second thought, maybe this wasn't the most well-thought-out plan in the world.

"Lily?"

Both the witch and the feline turned in response to their name. Scorpius stood there with his hands stuffed in his pockets, looking at the two Lily's with a bemused smirk.

"Hi."

_Hi? HI? _She hasn't seen Scorpius in over a week, the longest and strangest week of her life noneless, and the best she could manage was _hi_? Sometimes, Lily Potter can't even believe herself.

"Trying to break and enter Slytherin territory?" he asked with a playful accusatory tone.

"What? No…" She held out Lily the cat with outstretched arms. "I came to return your cat. You know. _Lily_. The one you named after me."

The smirk disappeared off his face and he frowned instead. "If you don't quit mocking me for that, I'm going to legally change her name to Pumpkin and legally change your name to Little Miss Bully Pants."

Lily laughed and Scorpius smiled and yeah okay, she really really missed him.

"How long have you been back?" she asked. The kitten wiggled out of Lily's grasp and began to climb down the steps.

Scorpius sighed and followed his runaway pet down into the darkness. "I came back to school this morning. I wanted to go see you sooner, but I had so much work to make up and then Professor Higgins said he nominated me for the Slughorn Club so I…"

Lily walked to the edge of the stairs, watching Scorpius descend until he was just a floating blob of platinum blonde hair in the pitch black. He was walking away, but he continued talking, so did he want Lily to follow or…?

"What are you doing?" he asked, his face reappearing into the light as he climbs up a few stair steps. "It's okay, Gryffindors are allowed on these steps too."

She peered into the depth of darkness. Somewhere near the dungeon, Lily the cat meowed and the sound echoed menacingly. "I'd rather not," she said.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, grabbed Lily by the wrist, and pulled her down. Ten steps and they were already enveloped by the darkness. She hooked her arm around Scorpius and stayed close to him because she could not see a thing for the life of her. Perhaps this is why she wasn't placed in Slytherin. She's afraid of the dark.

"So, as I was saying, I had to go see Professor Higgins about the Slughorn Club and he told me about the dinner party this Saturday."

"Oh right," Lily replied, "Molly got invited too."

The Slughorn Club started out quite literally just that, a club of talented and notable students that were Professor Slughorn's favorites. Now, Slughorn has long since retired, but his club still lives on as a sort of Honor Society within Hogwarts. Lily herself is too mediocre to ever get accepted into the club, except maybe for being Harry Potter's daughter but isn't that an overused reason. But people like Scorpius, Molly, Albus, and Rose were shoo-ins.

They stopped walking a few steps from the bottom. Lily (the cat) found her owner again and leaped up, settling down on Scorpius's shoulder. Lily (the Potter) blinked a few times and her eyes adjusted to the dark. Now she could see why Scorpius insisted on dragging Lily down here to talk. Darkness is calming; it seems like there's only Lily and Scorpius (and Lily) alone in the entire universe.

"And for the dinner party," he continued, "we're supposed to bring a date, and since I recently got brutally dumped by my girlfriend and since Rose and I came to a mutual agreement to stop seeing each other…"

Okay, that last part Lily didn't know. Obviously, Scorpius and Violet were no more, Violet made that very clear the morning of the newspaper incident. But now Scorpius and Rose too? Lily forced herself not to get too ahead of herself.

"…and since I don't have any other friends who are girls, I was wondering if you'd like to go as my date?"

Lily smiled. "I'm glad to hear that you're asking me as a last resort, not because you like me or anything."

Scorpius's eyes widened as he realized just how offensive his proposal was and hurried to apologize but Lily simply laughed.

"I'd love to go with you," she said. "But not because I like you or anything, it's because I'm not playing on the Quidditch game that day so I have nothing better to do."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and shoved Lily with his shoulder. They stood side by side for a while in the soft darkness, when Scorpius finally addressed the topic looming on both their minds.

"So, who do you think it is?" he asked, referring to the person intent on framing Lily for the racy photo and preventing the truth from coming out.

"I don't know, Scorpius. But people are really starting to forget and get over it, so maybe it's not that big of a deal." Lily bit her lip, thinking back to the mysterious letter. She's thankful for being in the dark, because otherwise, she would never be able to hide that humongous secret from Scorpius.

"It's just strange," he said. "By claiming the picture of Rose was actually you, are they trying to protect Rose or sabotage you?"

* * *

><p>Before they left for the Slughorn Club dinner party, Lily stopped by the Gryffindor locker room to wish her teammates good luck. Even though Rose was a member of the Slughorn Club, she was also this year's new Gryffindor team captain, so she would be flying in the arena rather than drinking soup with Hogwarts' brightest students. Smart choice, since it would be definitely awkward for Scorpius and Rose to endure a whole dinner together. Scorpius had followed Lily to visit the team, and just five minutes of being in the same room together was already making Scorpius and Rose squeamish.<p>

Lily watched her team soar out onto the arena on their brooms in their lap around the field. On the opposite side, she watched Roxanne lead the Hufflepuff team as they encircle the field in the other direction.

"Shall we?" Scorpius asked, holding out his arm for Lily to take.

She smiled and walked with him back into the school for the dinner. As they entered the building and turned the corner, a very flustered Lorcan ran to catch up with them. His hair was a mess and he was struggling with his bow tie.

"Hey, the Slughorn dinner didn't start yet, right?" Lorcan hurriedly asked.

"No," Lily replied. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be commentating?"

"Yes!" Lorcan exclaimed exasperatedly. "But, uh, I forgot that I agreed to go as Molly's date to the dinner, so I had to run back to my room from the Quidditch field to change. You think she'll be mad?"

Lily watched Lorcan fumble with the tie before she slapped his hands away and fixed the tie for him. "Honestly, Molly could never be mad at you. She's crazy about you." Now Lily just hoped Molly doesn't get mad at _her_ for saying that. "Is Lysander still at the game then?"

"Huh? Oh, Lysander? Yeah, he's announcing this game solo, I guess."

Lily adjusted the bow tie in place and with Scorpius's help, they tamed Lorcan's hair until it seemed at least semi-presentable.

"Thanks guys," Lorcan smiled, "you're the best, Little Lil."

When the three walked in the room, everyone else was already there and having small conversations with each other and eating snacks off floating silver platters. Lorcan quickly walked over to Molly, who did appear a little peeved about Lorcan's tardiness but smiled that lovely smile after he hugged her. Lily and Scorpius tried to be discreet, but everyone's eyes were on them. Lily could practically hear their judgmental thoughts: _Scorpius brought HER here?_

Naturally, Violet Tuckett was there. She is Slytherin's prefect and top student, after all. Lily hoped Scorpius and Violet were on a pretend-each-other-doesn't-exist stage in their break-up, but Violet gave Scorpius a long, icy glare that sent chills down Lily's spine. In retaliation, Scorpius made a show of wrapping his arm around Lily, pulling her tight against him, and walked away. So evidently, they were at a hate-each-other's-guts stage.

This was going to be a long night.

Over the course of dinner, the Scorpius/Violet showdown already showcassed three verbal arguments and frankly, it's downright awkward for all third party bystanders. After a while, Lily and Molly snuck away for some fresh air and peace in the small balcony attached to the dinner room. From their view over the lower Hogwarts campus, they could see Professor Longbottom's greenhouse where the flowers they planted last week were in full bloom.

Back inside, Scorpius and Violet were at it again. Lily cringed.

"The last time I saw Malfoy so angry was during our second year, when he tried to duel Al and Al used the Body-Bind Curse," Molly said.

"I remember that!" Lily smiled. "He couldn't move, so he just stood there getting red in the face."

Molly laughed at the memory. "But now that I think of it, Malfoy hasn't really bothered to your brother in a while. He hasn't really bothered any of us in a while."

Lily looked away towards the forest to hide her secret smile. She knew it was because of her. Scorpius hadn't bothered any of them since he became friends with Lily. "He's not a bad guy," she said softly.

"Yes, you would think so, wouldn't you?" Molly teased. "The rebellious Lily Potter, in love with a Malfoy."

Lily blushed profusely.

"Has he kissed you yet? Oh what am I saying, silly me, _of course _he's kissed you, the whole wizarding world knows. And a whole lot more than just snogging, too."

"MOLLY!"

What can Lily say? Technically, no, since it wasn't even Lily in that stupid photograph. But technically, yes, since Scorpius did kiss Lily once, which was the very beginning of everything. But then no again, since that first kiss should hardly count since it was supposed to be Rose...

Molly noticed her cousin's sudden change in demeanor. "Lil, what's wrong? Is it...is it Violet?"

Well, the problem is actually Rose, but Lily couldn't simply disclose _that _part of the story. She nodded nonchalantly, keeping her gaze locked on the row of rosebushes in the near end of the greenhouse (which were ironically next to the white lilies and the violets.) "I don't want to end up as _just another girl_ in his life," Lily finally confessed. "I don't want to end up like Violet Tuckett."

"You're far from ordinary, Lily Potter."

"Maybe, but a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet." _Just another girl, just another flower. _Violet's gone and Rose too, but Lily will be next to go.

"What about you?" Lily swiftly dodged the subject and curved it back at Molly. "You and Lorcan Scamander? Eh?" Lily wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Molly frowned. "Oh Lily, I think I'm chasing after a lost cause here. Lorcan doesn't really like me, he's just too nice of a gentleman to tell me to leave him alone. To him, I'm just a little kid."

Boy, can Lily relate to that. Half the time, she's convinced Scorpius only thinks of her as a little sister who's just tolerable enough. Because Scorpius is so suave and mature and brooding and Lily is so _young_.

"Although tonight, Lorcan was acting kind of strange," Molly continued. "A good strange. He laughed at all my jokes, even the lame ones I've already told before. He seemed genuinely happy to be here, not bored like he usually is."

"That's a good sign, maybe he's growing to like your quirky personality," Lily said.

"You think so?"

Lily nodded in encouragement. "Actually, I could go talk to him if you want."

Molly's eyes lit up. "Would you? Please do, and say good things about me and see if he likes me and ask if he prefers sexy or sassy."

Lily laughed and agreed. Suddenly, a small movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she quickly turned, practically spraining a neck muscle in the process. There were two shadows floating behind the half-draw curtains of the balcony. Lily slowly crept over, grabbed a hold of the curtains, and yanked them aside. In the split second before they were retracted, Lily and Molly both saw the two Extendable Ears.

Standing by the couch, Scorpius and Lorcan avoided eye contact with the two girls and tried to inconspicuously put the Extendable Ears back in their pockets.

Lily and Molly shared a mortified look. They weren't quite sure what they wanted to do: beat the snot out of the boys for eavesdropping or die of embarrassment.

(Probably the latter.)

The four were silent on the walk back to Gryffindor Tower. Lily finally sneaked a peek at Scorpius and found him smirking to himself, that egotistical bloke. Finally, when they reached the entrance, Lorcan hugged Molly goodbye and said, "I like both."

"What?" Molly asked.

"Both. Sassy and sexy."

Molly turned fifteen shades of red and ran inside the tower. Lorcan, Lily, Scorpius laughed and even the Fat Lady in the portrait chuckled at Molly's actions.

"Later, Little Lil." Lorcan gave Lily a wave before he turned and walked back to Ravenclaw Tower.

Which left Lily alone with Scorpius Smirk-my-pants-off Malfoy, as is often the case.

"Oh, just mock me already, you know you want to," Lily muttered.

But Scorpius said nothing, only leaned down and kissed Lily's forehead, much to her surprise. "_Later, Little Lil_," he said, copying Lorcan and left.

Lily all but dived through the entrance into the Gryffindor common room and ran up to her dormitory, collapsed face down on her pillow, intent on hiding in her room for the next week. Scorpius heard _everything_. She might as well have just handed her heart to him. And he did nothing in response except wear that huge smirk on that pretty face. Ugh. Damn Malfoy.

"So...how was it?" Cressida and Gwen peered at Lily and Molly with curious expressions.

"We don't want to talk about it," Lily and Molly replied in muffled unison.

Later, when the girls were all asleep, there was a soft knock on the window near Lily's bed. She blinked her eyes open and saw an owl outside, pecking the window with its beak. She sleepily got out of bed and opened the window. The owl dropped two objects on Lily's bed and flew off again into the night.

The first object was a short, unaddressed and unsigned letter. For one second, Lily thought it was from that anonymous sender again and her stomach clenched a little. But upon reading it, she smiled and relaxed because she realized it was from Scorpius. The second object was a single white lily.

_A rose by any other name does not smell as sweet.  
><em>_Because a Rose by another other any would be a Lily._


	8. The Storm

it's 1 am and i have to leave in two hours to catch a flight. and instead of sleeping, i'm finishing this chapter. priorities, you know? ;)

anyway, i didn't exactly plan it this way, but the mystery letter sender person is revealed in this chapter. let's see who guessed it right. and just when you thought the mystery was over, the chapter ends with another twist, which one of you also guessed right in one of your previous reviews. don't hate me, i know where i'm going with this. but i'm getting ahead of myself. here's the new chapter. happy reading.

* * *

><p>chapter eight<br>_the storm_

"…and _then_, Lily and I turned around and there were two Extendable Ears. Lorcan and Scorpius heard everything!"

Over breakfast the next morning, Molly retold the humiliating events of last night with excessive hand gestures while Lily nodded along, nibbling on her bread. Hugo, Gwen, and Cressida couldn't help but laugh at the hilarity of the evening. Lily was still rejoicing in the cute note Scorpius sent. Rose, however, sat unmoving, occasionally sneaking glances at them with a sad look in her eyes.

With a pang, Lily realized that Rose missed Scorpius. Of course she does. In a way, Lily should be happy since she technically won this "game" they were playing. She got Scorpius in the end, after all. But Rose…

Lily slid down the bench until she was next to Rose. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Rose replied in the most un-okay tone Lily has ever heard.

"Cheer up, Rose. You won your first Quidditch game as team captain!"

Rose nodded and tried to smile, even though her eyes were still so sad. It was too painful to look at, so Lily rested her head on Rose's shoulder and let Rose lean her head on Lily's head. All the way from the opposite side of the Great Hall, Lily saw Scorpius watching them, his expression unreadable. And a gut-wrenching thought crossed Lily's mind. What if the scandalous picture had never been published on the _Daily Prophet_? Surely Rose and Scorpius would still be together, wrapped up in their affair of lies, and surely Lily would still be caught in the middle of it at the worst end of the deal. Ignoring morality or honesty (which they tend to ignore a lot recently), what Rose and Scorpius had was real. Lily is just a victim of circumstances.

So, how in the world does this justify as a victory for Lily?

"You love him," Lily whispered.

"I'm not supposed to love him," Rose whispered back.

"But you do."

Lily looked up at Rose and found her with her head down, staring at her fingers as she knotted them together. And it's awful because Lily Potter has always been a sucker for tragic romances and now she's pitying Rose, pitying the supposed enemy, who was never her enemy in the first place. Oh, everything was much too confusing for eight o' clock in the morning.

"Why did you and Scorpius break up anyway?" Lily asked, quiet enough so no one else can hear.

"Because it was wrong," Rose said assertively. "Seeing the photo in the newspaper, it was like a slap to the face. I knew I had to stop cheating on Lysander like that. So we stopped. Just like that."

"Just like that," Lily repeated. And then Lily stole him away, _just like that_. It's the same old story, once again—Lily is a horrible person.

"That reminds me, I never got to ask you. How did you and Scorpius become so close anyway? You're two years apart, you're in different houses, and he loathes your brothers. How did you ever meet and become friends?"

As if on cue, all the students began to rise and hurry off to their morning classes. Lily has never been so thankful for classes to begin in her life. "Just a silly coincidence, that's all," Lily answered Rose, then quickly gathered her books and skedaddled out of there.

Behind her, Scorpius and Rose were walking to their first classes and their paths inevitably crossed. They stood and stared at each other for a few seconds past normal, the same sad look spreading into Scorpius's eyes as well, so many emotions and words unsaid, before Rose ducked her head and walked around Scorpius to head down the hallway.

Lily pretended like she didn't notice.

* * *

><p>After the impromptu revelation about the RoseScorpius dynamic, Lily didn't really know what to think. On one hand, it's pretty apparent that when they severed connections, it didn't cut even and there were leftover feelings lingering in both their psyches, so Lily really has no right interfering in a relationship that was never really over. On the other hand, Lily wanted this boy too and if she keeps letting her cousin call dibs, she's not going to have a fighting chance for herself, and she really has every right interfering in a relationship that was never really legitimate.

Since her mind was going around in circles, she thought the best thing she could do was avoid Scorpius until she could sort out her thoughts. And since this is Lily Potter we're talking about here, she obviously ran into Scorpius as soon as humanly possible because, as we've gone over before, Lily is pathetically incapable of avoiding people.

"Lily! Lily!" Scorpius ran down the crowded hallway, swerving around students until he reached Lily. Grabbing her hand, he took off again with her in tow.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she followed him out of the castle and onto the grassy commons.

"I have to show you something," he exclaimed, giddy and excited.

Scorpius's posse, the group of Slytherin boys who seem to blindly follow Scorpius around school, was gathered in a circle, staring up into the sky. Lily followed their gaze and felt rather idiotic since she couldn't see anything but the clear blue sky. She leaned towards Scorpius and whispered, "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

Then, out of nowhere, one of Scorpius's friends came speeding down from the sky, whizzing past the group on a broomstick, practically skidding the ground before he curved the broom back up, performed a loop-de-loop in the air, and then landed on the grass. His hair was a wind-blown disaster, his shirt and robe was completely ruffled, and when he tried to walk he fell down onto the ground. But he held the shiny broomstick up to the air like a championed prize. "Scor," he said with bright and wild eyes, "that was _SICK_."

Scorpius just smiled, took the broomstick out of his friend's hand, and beckoned Lily closer. "The Lightstorm X3," he brandished the glossy metal label on the end of the broom.

Lily shrieked and ran over, running her fingers down the smooth polished wood. "No, that's not possible. The Lightstorm X2 only just came out. They say the X3 is being designed right now and it isn't set to be released for another two years—"

"Miss Potter," Scorpius interrupted in a posh manner, "you are forgetting the fact that I am a Malfoy."

Like she could ever forget that. Scorpius flashed his signature grin, then swung his leg over the broom. "It's a prototype," he said. "Supposed to go ten times faster than the X2."

"Um, that doesn't exactly sound safe," Lily pointed out.

"Possibly," Scorpius shrugged like safety hazards are of no importance whatsoever. "But you know us boys. We love our toys. So are you coming or not?"

Lily eyed the broom with wariness. Beneath the evident safety concerns presented in that prototype, there was also a small paranoid part of Lily that is scared of falling and squeezes her eyes shut in fear every time she flies above an altitude of fifty feet. But how could she say no? Because there was also a larger fanatic part of Lily that is Quidditch-and-broomsticks all over, so she leapt onto the broom in front of Scorpius and they launched into the sky, the speed of lightning. They flew past Hogwarts in a second and then there was nothing but the open air, the wind rushing through their hair, and adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Scorpius put his arms around Lily and wrapped his hands over Lily's. He steered the Lightstorm X3 into a nosedive towards the lake below, then pulled back up so abruptly that Lily almost fell off the side of the broom. _Almost_ being the keyword here, since she screamed bloody murder and held onto Scorpius with all her strength, her fingernails digging into his skin. Scorpius's laughter permeated through the wind. "Blimey, Lily, I was just messing with you. I won't let you fall."

In retaliation, Lily wrestled control of the broomstick and did a 360° sideways flip. This time, Scorpius actually did fall off the side of the broom into the water below. With the biggest smirk on her face, Lily landed on the beach and watched him swim ashore.

He stalked over to her, dripping wet, soggy-clothed, and stomping mad, and shot her a cold glare to which she replied with a feigned smile. He grumpily took out his wand cast a drying spell on his clothes.

Meanwhile, Lily turned the Lightstorm X3 over in her hands, admiring the polished design and intricate metalwork. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that below the trademark logo "Lightstorm X3" was a short message engraved in a slanted handwritten scrawl.

_Draco, here's to keeping both our ends of the deal. Happy flying. Love, Father._

It was just a nice dedication from father to son—obviously the great Draco Malfoy had every connection under the sun and that's how Scorpius got the X3 two years in advance—but something about the note was off and registering Lily's suspicion-meter. She felt a sinking sensation as she read it again. _Here's to keeping both our ends of the deal_.

"What deal?" she asked as the newly-dried Scorpius sat down beside her.

When he saw Lily rubbing her finger over the engraved note, his face paled and his eyes widened. It was not the reaction she wanted.

"Scorpius? What is this?"

"It's nothing." He snatched the broomstick out of Lily's hands.

And Lily knew, she just _knew_. She had momentarily forgotten her troubles when Scorpius swept her away on the broomstick, but now they were back again. And it flat-out sucked because she thought she had left her Rose and Scorpius cares behind her two miles back in Hogwarts but apparently not. "It's about you and Rose, isn't it?"

Scorpius sighed deeply, his shoulders rising up, then down, down, down. The sadness was back in his eyes, so pained and so grave it was suffocating to witness.

"You love her," Lily said, feeling very déjà vu. "You're not supposed to love her. But you do."

"No, Lily, it's not like that. You don't understand. After the scandal, my father was _so_ angry. I've never seen him so angry and even my mother couldn't calm him down. He knew it was Rose in the picture and he made me swear I would stop seeing Rose. Not just any promise—I made an Unbreakable Vow. So, it doesn't even matter if I love Rose or not. I can't be with her, or else…I die."

Lily gasped. This dilemma just increased in complexity tenfold. It was one thing to pity Rose, who decided to leave her beloved Scorpius because of her morality; but Scorpius, who was forced to leave Rose through an Unbreakable Vow, was another case altogether. What kind of father would do something like that to his son, regardless of how many Lightstorm X3's he purchases to make up for it?

"Why?" she asked. "Why would your father do that?"

"My father is Draco Malfoy. I don't understand a lot of things that he does," Scorpius snapped back. "But I trust him and his decisions, so please, just forget it."

Lily winced at his harsh tone. "I just wanted to know why," she muttered defensively.

Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. When he finally spoke again, his voice was softer, gentler. "I don't know why. He just said something about consequences."

That's when it hit Lily.

Consequences. Draco making Scorpius give an Unbreakable Vow. The handwritten note engraved on the broom. The suspicion Lily felt when she first read it. Draco at Hogwarts the morning of the newspaper scandal. It all added together. The dedication note looked familiar because she had seen that same handwriting before on the cryptic anonymous letter she received.

The person who framed Lily Potter was Draco Malfoy.

The revelation was so great that it took her three attempts before she could actually form comprehensible sentences to inform Scorpius. After that, he threw himself back onto the Lightstorm X3 and she barely hopped onto the broom behind him before he dashed off back to Hogwarts. He flew even faster than before and she wrapped her arms in a death-grip around his waist because if she were to fall now, he probably would be too preoccupied to catch her. They were back at the castle in a flash and to her surprise, instead of landing on the grass, Scorpius flew straight past his waiting friends and went towards Gryffindor Tower. He was going right to Lily's room!

By some odd chance, the window had been opened earlier to let in some fresh air. Scorpius and Lily dived in and crash-landed on the rug in the middle of the dorm room. Lily got up from the floor and on wobbly legs, she made her way to her trunk, where she kept the anonymous letter. Once she dug the parchment out, they compared the slanted scrawl of the letter to the engraving on the X3. The handwriting was identical.

"I don't believe it," Scorpius uttered as he read the letter. "It was my father who did this? Why didn't you show this to me sooner? Wait, is _this_ why you insisted we just let the scandal boil over instead of tell the truth? Because my father told you to? Why would you do his bidding?"

Lily shrugged. "I guess I'm like you. For some reason, I trust him too."

"Has he contacted you since?"

"No, just this one letter. I mean, the scandal is yesterday's news by now. It's over, so your father doesn't have to worry about covering up the truth anymore."

"Which brings us right back to the same question. Why? Why did he try so hard to cover up the truth in the first place?"

* * *

><p>Since Christmas break was only a few weeks away, Lily and Scorpius decided to wait until they got home to investigate the mystery further. Besides, even if they did simply confront Draco about it, they doubted Draco would actually give them an answer. If he went behind his own son's back to hide the truth, the truth must be a deep, dark secret that would require much unearthing.<p>

On the train back home, Scorpius joined Lily and her family and friends again. But this time, no one left the cabin to flee Scorpius. (Perhaps all it took to accept Scorpius Malfoy was one humongous sex scandal.) Fortunately, Rose rode in the prefects' cabin with Albus again, so they were spared the Rose/Scorpius tension.

Halfway to London, Lily yawned and then curled up against Scorpius to nap the remainder of the trip. Scorpius only chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. "You know, you're really taking after my cat, using me as a napping pillow."

"Well," she replied sleepily, "you did name her after me."

While Lily and Scorpius bantered back and forth about this once again, Molly scowled from her seat across the aisle. As Molly had often complained to Lily, her relationship with Lorcan has been steadily going downhill, even after the sudden spark at the Slughorn Club dinner. Chasing after someone who doesn't love you back can only lead to heartbreak, that's what Lily said. Molly was this close to calling it quits. She half-hearted leaned towards Lorcan who was sitting beside her and asked if he wanted to go with her to buy some candy. He declined, making up some excuse about being tired. Instead, Lysander and Lucy accompanied Molly in search of the candy trolley. Lily frowned as she watched them go. Why are all relationships so difficult?

When Hogwarts Express landed in the station, everyone piled out of the train and left with their awaiting parents. Lily hugged Scorpius goodbye and wished him luck in his investigation endeavors. And to be completely honest, Lily didn't really expect Scorpius to uncover any secrets. He would probably poke around a bit in his father's study or something, then return empty-handed after the holidays. Lily didn't get her hopes up.

Which is why she was very shocked when Scorpius's face appeared in the fireplace one afternoon, urging Lily to come over right away for he had found something she had to see. She flooed over to Malfoy manor and landed in a large living room. Scorpius was nowhere in sight, but a small house elf was there. "The young master is waiting for you in the attic," he announced in a squeaky voice.

Lily followed the house elf up three flights of stairs until she found Scorpius sitting alone in the attic with boxes strewn all around him. He was staring at a piece of paper, his face paler than imaginable.

"Scorpius?" she approached him tentatively.

"Look." With a blank gaze, he gestured to the paper he was holding, then the other papers scattered around him. As Lily came closer, she realized the papers were actually photographs. They were a bit yellowed and torn at the edges as a result of time, but the people in the pictures still smiled and laughed as they moved across photo. Lily picked up some photographs and held them up to the light to see better. They were all of the same two people, a young man with blonde hair and a young woman with chestnut curls. Young Draco.

"These are just old pictures of your father and a woman who is probably one of his ex-girlfriends," Lily said. What was so monumental about these photographs?

"No," Scorpius said with a strained voice. "Look closer. Don't you recognize the woman?"

Lily peered closer. It wasn't Scorpius's mother Astoria, although now that he mentioned it, the woman did look kind of familiar…

That's when it hit her.

It was Aunt Hermione.


	9. The Prophecy

you don't understand how victorious i feel right now having finished this chapter. it took me soooooo long. sometimes i wonder why i make my stories so overwhelmingly complicated to the point where it confuses me, and i'm the author! but anyway, sorry for the wait for this chapter, blame my overachieving inner writer. i hope you like this chapter, it's my little rendition to _order of the phoenix._

also, not many hermione/draco fans, huh? tough crowd. (don't worry, i don't really ship them either.)

* * *

><p><span>chapter nine<span>  
><em>the prophecy<em>

"That's not possible," Lily stated, even as she stared at the dusty photograph which was physical evidence that yes, it was indeed possible. Draco and Hermione? Surely the world would have exploded before the two of them ever became anything close to friends. Because certainly "friends" were all they ever were, ever could be, they couldn't…they couldn't…

What alternate universe had Lily and Scorpius accidentally stumbled into?

And could they possibly stumble back out, thank you very much?

Scorpius scavenged further into the box where he had found the picture. Inside, many more pictures were stored, all of Draco and Hermione, all dusty and yellowed, as if the pictures had been shoved into this box one day and hidden away in the corners of the attic where no eyes could ever see again. Until now, obviously. On the side of the old box was the year_ 2005_ written in the familiar Draco scrawl. Lily tried to count back the years and pinpoint where this secret, shocking relationship could fit in the timeline.

"2005, that's before you and Rose were born," Lily calculated. "That's…wait, I think that's the year Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron got married."

Scorpius finally spoke. "That's the year my parents got married, too. Well, actually they eloped, but same difference."

"So how could _this_ have happened?" Lily asked, gesturing to the pile of pictures at their feet. "How could your father and my aunt pull a stunt like this when they were both marrying other people that very same year? And how could we not know about it? I mean, Uncle Ron tells us the story every year about how he and Aunt Hermione started dating after the war was over and seven years later they finally got married. They never dated anyone else. These pictures shouldn't exist."

"But they do, Lily," Scorpius sighed. "They do exist, it did happen, and they've kept it a secret all these years."

"But yhy? Do you think it has something to do with your father's letter to me and making you do the Unbreakable Vow?"

"I'm not sure why, but I think it has everything to do with my father's actions. Somehow, my father and Hermione are linked to me and Rose, and I need to figure it out."

During this conversation, the house-elf remained standing behind them, wringing his hands and frantically muttering to himself. The more Lily and Scorpius speculated, the louder the house-elf's nervous mutterings became until finally, Scorpius turned around to look at the house-elf in annoyance. "What is it, Gnobbs?"

Gnobbs shrank back slightly at Scorpius's loud voice, which then effectively knocked over a stack of boxes. That put the elf into another nervous fit. "P-P-Please, young master," he stuttered. "It is best if you and Miss Potter leave it be."

"Leave what be?" Lily asked.

"Don't try to investigate about Master and Miss Granger," Gnobbs pleaded, pulling at the hem of Lily's shirt, "The secrets of the prophecy must not be revealed! There will be dire consequences! Please, Gnobbs only wants to help you—"

"Wait, wait, wait, what prophecy?" Scorpius interrupted. "Gnobbs, what do you know about this? What are you not telling us?"

The house-elf threw his hands on either side of his face and ran back down the attic entrance. "Gnobbs has said too much! Too much!" But before Scorpius and Lily could chase after him for more information, Gnobbs's head reappeared. "Master!" he shrieked. "Master has returned home!"

"Shit," Scorpius cursed as he quickly began stuffing the mess of photographs back into the box. Lily helped retrieve some stray pictures on the floor while the house-elf stood to the side, nervously wringing his hands, never taking his eyes off from the attic entrance like he was afraid Draco would appear any second.

"So, I'm guessing the whole 'let's just confront your father about it' plan is out of question?" Lily asked and she threw the pictures into the box.

"Oh, you think? Now hurry, I'm not allowed to be up in the attic at all. My father will kill me if he knows I've been looking through his old stuff," Scorpius urged.

Lily gave him a pointed look. "I wonder why."

Once the last picture was put away, Lily slammed on the lid and followed Scorpius and the house-elf down to the second floor landing of the manor. The sound of Draco's approaching footsteps made all three of them freeze. Just as Draco was about to round the corner of the staircase, Scorpius grabbed Lily's hand and they made a beeline for Scorpius's room down the hall. The house-elf, in a fit of panic, simply disapparated.

Two seconds later, when Draco Malfoy opened the door to his son's bedroom, he found his son and his young red-haired friend sitting on the bed casually reading a Quidditch magazine together, as if they'd been there all afternoon.

"Lily Potter," Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't know we had guests."

"Hello Mr. Malfoy," she greeted with a bright, innocent smile, trying earnestly to hide her heavy breathing from all the running.

Perhaps Lily was a remarkably talented fake-smiler, or perhaps Draco just didn't find any threat in the youngest Potter, either way, he smiled back and did not question the two with any suspicious inquiry. "Well, I'll leave you two kids at it, then."

Once the door closed, both Lily and Scorpius collapsed on the bed in exhausted relief.

Secrets were never-ending and just when they thought they were getting some answers, the entire mystery plummets to a whole new level of complicated insanity. They were now officially in way over their heads.

After the discovery, Lily couldn't look at Aunt Hermione, or any relatives of previous generation, the same way again. During all the family dinners and festivities at the Burrow, Lily couldn't help but sit alone and contemplate what else they were hiding. How could Aunt Hermione do something like this? Does Uncle Ron know? Does _Rose_ know? History does tend to repeat itself; are Grangers forever destined to fall for the charms of Malfoys? And was it so bad that they had to keep it their deepest, darkest secret? So many questions remained unanswered and it was driving Lily mad.

She even tried indirectly asking her mother, saying that she was to research prophecies for her Divination homework. But Ginny only gave the standard textbook response and her composure showed no indication of any knowledge of secret family prophecies. Lily was quite bitterly disappointed.

Stay optimistic, she told herself. Draco and Hermione had a short affair and after it was over, they wanted to keep it a secret from the scandal-loving public. And when Scorpius and Rose inadvertently followed in their parents' footsteps and ended up on front page news, Draco wanted to hide the truth just to protect his own secrets, that's all. That was a logical theory, right?

But somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a different, worse, _unthinkable_ theory and she's so terribly afraid.

* * *

><p>For the first two weeks back to Hogwarts, Lily didn't see much of Scorpius at all. The one time she did catch his eye in the hallway he only gave her a half-hearted smile and then walked off without a word. Which only goes to prove that Lily Potter is actually terrific at avoiding people precisely when she doesn't want to avoid them.<p>

And for the time being, life actually resumed some sense of normality. Lily hung out with her friends, she attended Quidditch practice, she did her best to stay atop of the increasing piles of fourth-year homework, and there were no distractions from a blonde Slytherin constantly pulling her along by the arm. Once, she even stopped and wondered if this is how things would have turned out if she and Scorpius never kissed that fateful night one year ago. They would still be strangers, secrets would still be secrets, and life would be simple. Simple was nice. Simple was comfortable.

But she's a Potter after all and Potter's don't do simple. So when Albus came with some news that shook whatever small amount of normality right out of Lily's life again, well, it wasn't exactly unexpected.

"Hey, do you guys know what's going on with Rose?" Albus asked Friday afternoon.

Lily, Hugo, and Gwen were sitting by the fire in the common room. The three looked amongst each other and shook their heads. "Why, isn't something wrong with my sister?" Hugo replied.

Albus sat down beside them with an unsure grimace. He opened his mouth several times to speak but couldn't find the right words. Finally, he said, "I think Rose has an eating disorder."

"What? Al, don't be ridiculous. Rose is fine," Lily assured.

"But think about it," Albus continued. "She doesn't seem to ever have an appetite anymore. Even at Christmas dinner, she was really only pushing her food around her plate. And I found Rose vomiting after dinner."

"You think Rose has an eating disorder just because she threw up that one time? Maybe it was just the food." Lily was still skeptic about this. Rose Weasley is many things but she's not bulimic. She's not like that.

"Then how do you explain her boggart? Today during our Defense Against the Dark Arts class, we were practicing against a boggart. Usually Rose is always the top of the class, as you know, but today, it took her three tries before she could say the spell right."

"What was she so afraid of?" Hugo asked.

"That's the strangest part. When Rose stepped up, the boggart transformed into…_Rose_."

Lily and Hugo shared a confused look. "Rose is afraid of herself?"

"No, not just herself," Albus quickly clarified. "The boggart wasn't just a duplicate Rose, it was fatter. Like, a bigger version of Rose."

"So you think Rose's biggest fear is to become fat," Gwen concluded.

"That's not right," Hugo shook his head. "My sister has never had issues about her weight."

Albus agreed. "Yeah, that's what I thought too, which is why I came to you guys to see if maybe you knew anything. Did something happen to Rose recently?"

Hugo and Gwen sadly shook their heads but Lily's eyes widened as she realized Rose's behavior may be related back to the scandal months ago and ending things with Scorpius. She had seemed so distraught back then, but Lily assumed Rose had gotten over it. Plus, Lily was so paranoid with the Draco and Hermione thing throughout family Christmas festivities that she didn't notice much of Rose at all. Lily felt overwhelming sympathy for her cousin just then. All this recent drama, not to mention newfound family secrets hidden in dusty corners of manor attics, has been revolving around Rose. Lily is the just the innocent passerby who happened to find herself in this mess; poor Rose was born into it. And worse, she probably didn't even know it. And worst, was this mess was prone to get messier.

"By the way, Lily," Albus said, "you might want to go check on Malfoy."

"Don't tell me, Scorpius has an eating disorder too?" Lily muttered.

"No, but he ran out in the middle of class and didn't come back. His boggart must have really upset him."

Now Lily was starting to get worried. "What was he afraid of?"

"I'm not sure actually. He said _riddikulus_ so fast none of us could really see his boggart. I think it was of his father, holding a baby. Maybe some old childhood trauma or—"

Before Albus could even finish, Lily quickly sprang up and ran out to find Scorpius. She had an inkling that her unthinkable theory just may well be Scorpius's unthinkable theory too. After blindly searching for ten minutes, she finally found him sitting on the bottom step of the spiral staircase. His fingers threatened to pull the hair right out of his skull and his eyes were shut tight, as if willing the horrific image to leave his mind.

Tentatively, Lily approached him, moving to stand directly in front of him. She rested her hand gently over his hands that were currently assaulting his hair. "Hey," she whispered. (She figured "Are you okay?" would be rather pointless.)

"Who told you?" he asked bluntly, still with his head down and eyes shut, not looking at Lily.

"My brother. What…" She hesitated. "What did you see?"

"It was my father and he was holding this baby, a baby girl, and she had bright red hair and it was Rose! You said it, my father and Hermione were together in 2005 and they both got married later that year and then had me and Rose. What if Rose is actually my…my…"

He couldn't say it, the awful word that is _sister_. In an outburst of sorrow or anger or resentment or all of the above, Scorpius suddenly wrapped his arms around Lily's waist, pulling her towards him. Since she was still standing and he still sitting on the stair step, his head rested against her stomach. Not quite knowing how to react in this situation, Lily could only pat him on the shoulder in an awkward condolence.

"Look, let's not jump to conclusions," she said. "Rose can't be a Malfoy, she has the classic Weasley red hair! And of all the pictures we found, none of them showed a pregnant Hermione. Your father and Hermione must have just been some little fling or something. They didn't last. Rose is totally Uncle Ron's daughter. In fact, I think my dad once said something about how he thought Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione put together a rather quick marriage because Uncle Ron got her pregnant."

"Or maybe she was pregnant with my father's baby and so she had to quickly marry Ron to cover it up," Scorpius argued.

Lily sighed. There was no use fighting with him, not when he was in this the-glass-is-perpetually-half-empty depression. She tugged at his arms and he reluctantly stood up. "We can go back and forth about this all night, so why don't we just forget about it. If you keep thinking about the possibility, it will drive you crazy. We don't know anything for sure, so let's just go, okay?"

But he wouldn't move. His eyes had changed from distress to revelation and before Lily could even blink, Scorpius was giving her a big kiss on the lips. "Lily, you're a genius. There's only one way to know for sure."

She was still stunned by the unexpected kiss. Why was she a genius again?

"We have to know what the prophecy is." Scorpius nodded and began pacing as he planned some brilliant scheme. Lily was still rather in the dark and two steps behind.

"But you know your father won't tell you and if you ask Gnobbs, he'll probably disapparate again."

"I'm not talking about asking my father or my house-elf. There's another way to find a prophecy." There was that undeniable hint of adventure in his voice and his smug smile was back.

"No," Lily adamantly shook her head in disbelief once she finally caught on to his drift. "You can't be serious. You're going to sneak into the Ministry of Magic?"

"No, Lily. _We're_ going to sneak into the Ministry of Magic."

* * *

><p>Even Lily has to admit, it was a good plan. The students were scheduled a Hogsmeade trip Saturday, which gave Lily and Scorpius the perfect alibi to sneak off to the Ministry. While the two under-aged wizards weren't allowed to apparate into the Ministry without alerting the Ministry itself, it also just so happened that Scorpius was in possession of a ridiculously fast prototype broomstick. Furthermore, in the worst case scenario that they were to be caught, well, the Minister of Magic is Percy Weasley after all so surely Lily's uncle would give them a break?<p>

That last part was actually quite unlikely—Uncle Percy would not only persecute them but also tell _everyone_ and the entire secret scheme would blow up in their faces—but it was comforting to have connections in high places, at least.

But the one thing neither of them expected was for Molly Weasley to find them in the hidden alley behind the Hog's Head, about to take off on the Lightstorm X3.

Talk about an awkward moment.

"And where might you be going?" Molly questioned.

"To the Ministry," Lily answered in a small voice.

Molly stared both of them down. "And why exactly are you going to the Ministry?"

Lily and Scorpius shared a worried look.

"Tell me what you're up to, or else I'll tell Finch right now that you were breaking the rules and trying to leave Hogsmeade," Molly threatened.

Scorpius surprised both Lily and Molly when he explained the truth. "There's a prophecy that our parents aren't telling us. We're not sure what it is, but it must be suspicious if they went through so much trouble to hide it from everyone, even us. So, we're going to find the prophecy record in the Ministry of Magic."

"A secret prophecy?" Molly's eyes lit up with excitement. "Can I come too?"

"Molly, I don't think that's a good idea," Lily said.

"I don't want to be left behind while you have all the fun. You and Scorpius always sneak off by yourselves. Yeah, that's right, I've noticed," Molly argued. "Besides, you'll need someone who knows the way around the Ministry. I've spent so much time there with my dad last summer, I know how to get around without people noticing. If you let me come, I promise I won't tell anyone."

And that's how Molly Weasley inserted herself into the plan.

They arrived at the Ministry in no time at all, considering the fact that the three of them were all wedged on one broomstick. After storing Scorpius's X3 behind a nearby abandoned dumpster, Molly quickly led the way into the visitor's entrance for the Ministry of Magic.

"All guests are supposed to check it, but if we just walk in like we belong here and avoid eye contact with the front desk, no one will notice," Molly instructed.

Following Molly's advice, the three strolled into the Ministry with heads raised, shoulders back, and blank expressions on their faces. Fortunately, Saturdays at the Ministry are nowhere near as busy as the weekdays, so the Lily, Scorpius, and Molly easily made it past the main Atrium. With the front desk and security guards behind them, Molly quickly ushered them towards the elevators and they all entered an empty lift.

Lily eyed the different buttons on the lift. She had no idea which department was on which level; she didn't even know which department exactly the Hall of Prophecy was located. Yes, she had been to the Ministry before, but that was years ago back when she was just a little girl and would never have thought in a billion years that the next time she's here, she would be trying to break in, accompanied by Scorpius Malfoy no less. Lily was suddenly grateful that her cousin had spontaneously invited herself along in this mission. Molly smiled and knowingly pressed the button for level 9. The perks of being the Minister's daughter.

The lift began to close and Lily leaned back against the wall of the lift. The plan was going quite smoothly indeed. But the minute that thought went through her brain, she wished she could take it back because just then, a hand reached between the closing doors and an all too familiar voice called out, "Wait, hold the lift!"

Before Lily could stop him, Scorpius hit the button to open the lift doors. Then, they all froze.

"What are you doing here?" James Potter exclaimed.

Of all the wizards they could possibly run into, it just had to be James. Scorpius groaned, Molly cringed, and Lily felt nauseous. "Hey big brother," she greeted in a weak voice.

Looking behind him to ensure no one was watching, James stepped into the lift and jabbed the button to shut the doors again. He turned back around and faced the three guilty students. "Care to explain why you three are here in the Ministry of Magic instead of Hogwarts?"

"Technically, we're supposed to be at Hogsmeade right now," Scorpius corrected. Lily elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

"We need to find a prophecy," Molly answered.

"Why?" James asked.

Lily carefully selected her words so as to give James, and Molly, a justifiable reason without revealing more than she had to. "There's a prophecy that our parents are keeping a secret from us. We're not sure what it is, but we want to find out. We think…we think it might have to do with us." Or more specifically, it might have to do with _Rose_, but it's always safer to stick to the more generic first person plural.

"Come on, Potter," Scorpius jeered. "Don't tell me you've become a prick now that you've got a fancy job at the Ministry. We're uncovering a secret prophecy. Where's your sense of adventure?"

James pondered a bit. Lily bit her lip in anxiety and may or may not have cut off the circulation in Scorpius's left hand with her incessant squeezing. If her mother ever found out about this, Lily would be grounded indefinitely. And it would be James who brought upon her sentencing. It was like waiting upon the verdict of her worst nightmare. Finally, when the lift's doors opened and a voice announced "Level nine, Department of Mysteries," James's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Well, let's go," he said.

And that's how James Potter inserted himself into the plan.

Lily smiled and gave him a hug. Molly let out a loud sigh of relief. The party of four walked out into the dark corridor of the Department of Mysteries.

"I'll have you know, Malfoy, you're the only prick here," James said.

Scorpius was about to retort, but Lily quickly stepped between them, linking one arm with her oldest brother and the other arm with Scorpius. "Don't you two start," she warned.

They opened the door at the end of the corridor and stepped into a circular hall which began crazily spinning the second the door shut behind them. The streaks of blue candlelight was making Lily dizzy and she kept a firm grasp on James and Scorpius in fear of complete disorientation. And in fear of vomit.

"Oh that's right, I forgot!" Molly cried in despair. "The Entrance Chamber spins if any intruders come, so then they get lost and trapped down here."

"Trapped?" Scorpius repeated. "You couldn't have told us _before_?"

James, grinning like a smug hero, just held up his wand and said, "Where's the way out?"

The chamber immediately stopped spinning and the door behind them opened again, leading back to the corridor and lifts. Lily, Scorpius, and Molly all sighed and tried to calm their racing hearts.

"That's the trick," James explained, "you ask for the chamber to show you the exit, and then you find the actual door you want by counting from the exit door. This way."

They followed James through the door straight across the exit, past what James called the Time Room, and into the large Hall of Prophecy. Shelves upon shelves reached all the way up to the high ceiling and thousands of glowing orbs rested on the shelves.

"Here we are, the Hall of Prophecy," James announced. "Each orb stores the official record of a prophecy."

Lily walked up yo the nearest orb and inspected the magical object. There was a sort of grave chill about the place, yet also a sense of awe. "How do you know so much about the Department of Mysteries anyway?" she asked James. "You don't even work in this department."

"After hearing Dad's stories, I couldn't resist exploring," James replied. "You won't believe how much they let me get away with, just because I'm Harry Potter's son."

Well, as long as he's using his namesake for righteous causes. Lily rolled her eyes.

"There are so many prophecy records, though. How do we find the one we're looking for?" Molly asked from two rows over.

James walked over to join Molly, peering at the labels on the shelves. "I think they're stored in chronological order. So, what year was this prophecy given?"

Lily and Scorpius shrugged at each other. "2005?" Lily guessed.

The four made their way to the correct row and thus began the tedious task of searching through the hundred orbs for the something they didn't even know they were looking for. They didn't know who the seer was or to whom the prophecy was made. They didn't know who the subject of the prophecy was. And they didn't know for sure it was given in 2005 in the first place. In hindsight, this whole plan was doomed for failure from the start.

"Careful, don't touch any of them," James cautioned. "Only the subjects of the prophecies are allowed to retrieve the records from the shelf. Anyone else that touches them goes mad."

They split up and wandered down the long row, scanning the numerous labels attached to the orbs. All the letters under the dim blue light were blurring together in Lily's mind. This was hopeless. They should never have come here in the first place. Now Molly and James were dragged into the mess as well and the more was most definitely not the merrier.

Just then, Scorpius beckoned her over. "When we find the prophecy, what are we going to do about _them_?" he whispered, nodding over to Molly and James.

"They're going to hear the prophecy too," Lily insisted. "I mean, they won't tell anyone. They're family."

Scorpius scoffed. "Right, no one keeps secrets better than family."

"Besides, how are you so certain we'll even find it?"

"Because I already did."

Scorpius pointed to a tiny orb right next to where they were standing. Lily leaned in closer and read the attached label:

_F.R.L. to D.L.M. & H.J.G.  
>THE NEXT GENERATION<em>

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Positive. F.R.L. must be the initials of some seer, who gave the prophecy to Draco Lucius Malfoy and—"

"Hermione Jean Granger," Lily finished. "But what does it mean _the next generation_?"

"Remember how you told James you thought the prophecy had to do with us? Well, you were right. It is about us. It's about all of us." Scorpius slowly reached his hand towards the orb. "And since the prophecy is about all of us, I should be able to…"

"Careful!" Lily gasped.

Scorpius flinched in response. "You're not helping!" he muttered back.

"Sorry, I just don't want you to go mad or something!"

"You're the bold Gryffindor, you want to do it?"

"No." Lily gulped. "Okay, carry on then."

They both held their breath as Scorpius eased his fingers around the small orb and, to their relief, nothing happened. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he smashed the orb onto the floor.

Instantly, the glass shattered at the glowing cloudy substance rose up from its shell and took on the form of a middle-aged witch with large heavy-set eyes. Molly and James quickly joined their side as the prophecy record began. "_Your lives hang by threadbare lies, and your children will suffer the consequences you evade. The next generation is doomed to relive past mistakes until the truth is revealed as the false daughter dies. Secrets will tear the family apart until the truth is revealed as the false daughter dies…_"

The cloudy echo faded until it vanished altogether. The resounding silence was deafening.

"Who's the false daughter?" Molly finally asked.

James only shook his head. As for Lily and Scorpius, they both had a good idea who the false daughter might be and they were scared for her life. _The truth is revealed as the false daughter dies_. By trying to uncover this family secret, Lily and Scorpius might have unintentionally worked towards Rose's demise.

* * *

><p>After they returned to Hogwarts, Molly retired to the dorm. Hearing the ominous prophecy had shaken her up a bit, and who would blame her? Lily would have liked nothing more than to join her cousin, and preferably stop by the kitchen for a cup of tea, but unlike Molly, Lily was not allowed to simply walk away when the task proved more daunting than previously thought. No, Lily Potter had been given ample opportunities in the past year to walk away, but she never did. Now, she had to face the burdens of this disaster of her own doing.<p>

"That's why my father tried so hard to keep Rose out of it," Scorpius said once he and Lily were finally alone. "They're keeping it a secret because they want to save Rose's life. Since we just got that much closer to the truth which means we also…Lily, what have we done?"

"It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay." Lily figured that if you say it enough times, you'll have to start believing it at some point.

She only managed five repetitions of her mantra before she was interrupted by Hugo, sprinting in their direction.

"Lily! Lily, quick! Something happened to Rose!"


	10. The Con

**note: **two reviewers were concerned lily and scorpius won't end up together. and i'll admit, this chapter might have you lily/scorpius shippers throwing knives at me. BUT, may i remind you that the reason i wrote this story in the first place is because i've fallen in love with next gen and the lily/scorpius pairing in particular. they are also the main characters in the story. that's all i'm saying.

now, as you read this chapter, you might think i've taken a turn onto cliche avenue and you might roll your eyes and say "not one of those stories again!" but _please, please, please_ i beg of you, read the chapter until the end. the plot isn't going where you think. again, that's all i'm saying.

**quick recap:** the prophecy: "_Your lives hang by threadbare lies, and your children will suffer the consequences you evade. The next generation is doomed to relive past mistakes until the truth is revealed as the false daughter dies. Secrets will tear the family apart until the truth is revealed as the false daughter dies..."_ they think rose is the false daughter. and then hugo runs up to them saying something is wrong with rose.

* * *

><p><span>chapter ten<span>  
><em>the con <em>

Without another word, Lily and Scorpius followed Hugo and raced through the halls. After dodging the crowded traffic of incoming students, and knocking over a few unlucky first-years along the way, the three arrived before an empty girls' bathroom on the second floor. Lorcan Scamander was already there, pounding on the door.

"Rose!" Lorcan yelled through the door. "Rose, are you okay?"

There was no response.

"What happened?" Lily asked, her voice trembling almost as much as her knees.

"We were walking back from Hogsmeade," Hugo explained, "when suddenly Rose stopped and ran straight for the bathroom. She was holding her stomach and had a hand over her mouth, so I think she might be throwing up."

"Maybe she just had some bad pumpkin juice?" Lily suggested.

She shared a worried look with Scorpius. Please just be some bad pumpkin juice. What Lily would give for it just to be some bad pumpkin juice.

Lorcan hit the door one last time. "But she won't say anything. We're starting to get worried. She locked the door and, well, it is a _girls'_ bathroom…"

Lily nodded, understanding that she would have to be the one to go inside. Flicking her wand, she opened the bathroom door with a whispered "_Alohamora._" Stepping into the quiet bathroom, she turned around and watched the door slowly shut on the three boys' concerned faces. She took a deep breath, held her wand out at the ready, and continued forwards into the tiled room.

Honestly, she didn't know what to expect. The worst her mind could come up with was a dead Rose Weasley sprawled out on the cold floor, stricken by the very prophecy Lily had found just an hour ago. _The truth is revealed as the false daughter dies. _Rose is the false daughter. Rose is _Draco_'s daughter. And now that Lily and Scorpius stuck their noses in old family secrets that they had no business with in the first place, Rose was dead. Lily killed Rose.

However, when Lily finally rounded the corner of the bathroom, she heard the distinct sound of Rose crying. And maybe it can be perceived as slightly morbid to rejoice at the sound of someone crying, but if she's crying, then she's still alive. Lily has never been more relieved.

"Rose?" Lily called out. "Rose, it's okay. It's me, Lily."

Suddenly, a transparent ghost appeared right before Lily's face and she let out a horrific scream, which surely put the poor boys on the other side of the door in a rightful fit. They probably misunderstood the scream and assumed the worst. "No, no, everything's fine!" Lily quickly shouted once the initial shock of seeing the girl ghost passed. "It was just Moaning Myrtle."

Myrtle frowned and crossed her arms as she floated before Lily. "Of course, I'm just Moaning Myrtle to all of you, just a silly ghost who doesn't matter, don't mind my feelings," she said in her high-pitched voice. She flew off to perch on a high window-sill, ignoring all of Lily's apologies, and only added as an afterthought, "She's in the second stall."

Giving Myrtle one last glance, Lily slowly approached the second stall and pushed the door open. Rose sat on the floor, leaning against the wall with her knees drawn up against her and her face buried in her hands. She looked so tragic, so fragile. One touch, and Rose will shatter.

Lily eased herself down to sit across from Rose. Gingerly and tentatively, she rested her hand on her older cousin's elbow. "What's wrong?"

Rose didn't reply, but she did lift her head to face Lily. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face pale as the moon, and tears ran down the black circles under her eyes. Rose Weasley, usually so refined and flawless, was an official mess.

"What's wrong?" Lily repeated. "Please tell me. I can keep a secret, you know."

After a prolonged silence where the only sound was the whimpering from Myrtle above, Rose finally spoke.

"I never meant for this to happen," she explained, her voice hoarse and weak. "I'm perfect Rose Weasley after all. The war heroes Ron and Hermione's prodigy daughter. Everyone assumes I'm perfect. My family, my friends, the entire wizarding world. Gryffindor prefect, top witch of the class, Quidditch team captain, perfect, perfect, perfect. It's just, I'm so _fucking_ tired of being perfect."

Lily was taken back. Rose never cussed, ever, not even so much as a 'bloody hell.' But then again, that's the point, isn't it? Perfect Rose not so perfect anymore.

"That's why I started seeing Scorpius in the first place. Cheating on my perfect boyfriend with Scorpius Malfoy, of all people? No one in a million years would have expected perfect Rose Weasley to do that. In a way, it was sort of my own personal secret rebellion. I wanted to feel defiance for once in my life. And, you know, it's _Scorpius_." A small smile played at Rose's lips, but quickly fell again as she continued. "No one was ever supposed to find out about it though. I don't know what possessed me to sleep with Scorpius; that seemed to be pushing my small rebellion a bit too far. I guess I had an unhealthy amount of spite that night. I don't know. But then it somehow ended up on the _Daily Prophet_ and then you were wrongly blamed for it and then you and Scorpius had to leave Hogwarts for a while and it was all completely my fault. Me and my stupid spite."

Rose began weeping again, so Lily crawled over to sit beside her. She took Rose's hand in hers and squeezed it encouragingly.

"After the scandal," Rose continued, "I realized just how foolish I've been acting. Just because I feel overwhelmed by the pressure to be perfect, it doesn't mean I can take it out on others. Through my relationship with Scorpius, I've hurt Lysander. And you. I couldn't do that. So I ended things with Scorpius right then."

"But did you fall for him along the way?" Lily asked. "You talk as if he's simply someone you used for your 'personal rebellion,' but he's more than that. You care for him."

"That's irrelevant," Rose quickly interjected. "I care for Lysander, too. That's why, after Gryffindor won the first Quidditch game this year, during the after-party when Lysander was kissing me, I knew he wanted to…and I…so I…"

Lily gasped. "No! You mean you…?"

"Lily, I'm a whore!" Rose cried, resting her head against Lily's shoulder and sobs wrack her body. "I had sex with Scorpius and ended up on the front page of the damn newspaper. Then I felt guilty about it, so I had sex with Lysander in some twisted way of repenting my sins. And now I'm pregnant!"

And Lily thought the situation couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Pregnant?" The word sounded alien to Lily as she hugged her cousin. Teen pregnancy. It was something that parents warned you about, something that happened to girls in rumors, something that stirred up conflict in cliché novels. Yet here was Rose, very much pregnant and very much real and Lily hadn't a single clue what to do.

At least it all made sense now. The boggart Albus described wasn't a fat Rose, it was a pregnant Rose. That's why she hasn't had a good appetite and that's why she's been vomiting. Rose wasn't bulimic; she was with child.

_The next generation is doomed to relive past mistakes. _Hermione got pregnant with Draco's daughter and now Rose was following her mother's past, footstep by footstep, completely aware of the disaster she was heading.

"I refused to believe it for a couple months," Rose said. "But who am I kidding? I'm pregnant. And I don't know who the father is."

The last part made Lily's stomach twist into a double knot. She's been so stunned by Rose's pregnancy that her logic hadn't progressed far enough to consider who the father of the baby might be. Because if the father happened to be a tall, blonde Slytherin whose name rhymes with Palfoy, then there is probably cause (or at least reasonable suspicion) that the baby is the result of ince—

No. It can't be. Please, oh Merlin, please. It can't be.

"It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay." Lily began her mantra again, for what else can she possibly say. Myrtle had flown down from her window and now hovered over Lily and Rose with a sympathetic look on her bespectacled face. When even Moaning Myrtle feels sorry for you, that's saying something.

"I can't keep the baby," Rose stated. "But I can't just get rid of it either. What am I going to do?"

See, that's the other thing about pregnancy. No matter how great of a confidant Lily Potter may be, this is one secret that she cannot keep. No one can hide it for long; after nine months, the truth is bound to come out.

"You'll have to tell your mother," Lily replied. "She's a Healer. She'll know what to do."

Rose solemnly nodded. She had come to the same reluctant conclusion.

"You'll have to tell Lysander and Scorpius too. Tell them everything."

"Yes, that's the only fair, isn't it? But, give me a few days, okay? I'm not ready yet. I swear I will tell my mum and the guys eventually, but there are still some things I have to deal with before then. So, please don't say anything. I will take my own responsibilities."

"I promise." This was Lily's last secret. Give Rose the time she needed and then reveal everything. No more secrets, no more lies. This mess was beyond out-of-control now and they needed serious help.

Lily and Rose got up from the floor and Lily led her to the sink, helping Rose wash up her tear-stained cheeks.

"Over Christmas break, I was looking through my mother's Healer books," Rose said. "I already suspected I was pregnant then, so I looked up some potions just in case. There is one potion that acts as a paternity test. Do you think, maybe I should…use it?"

"Um. Well. Would it make it difference who the father is, though?" (Of course it would, it made all the difference in the world, but Rose didn't know that.)

"It might."

It took every ounce of self control for Lily to stop herself from telling Rose everything—about Hermione and Draco, about the prophecy, about the chance Scorpius might be her own half-brother—because Lily is terribly afraid the truth will kill Rose, the false daughter. It's only a miracle Rose was even alive now.

"I think you should do make the potion, then," Lily answered. "Anything I can help?"

"I need one fresh hair from either Lysander or Scorpius. It must be plucked from the head, otherwise it won't work. I'll get the other ingredients and the potion ready. How about we meet back here tomorrow night at 11 o' clock?"

"Sure. One hair can't be too difficult. Hey, where is Lysander anyways?"

"I don't know. We sort of got into a fight at Hogsmeade today. He didn't walk back with me."

The two made their way to the bathroom door. Rose paused just before pulling the door open, her hand quivering slightly. "I have to do this," she asserted. "Tell me I have to do this. I have to know."

Lily wrapped her arms around Rose. "You are the strongest, smartest witch I know. You're going to get through this, Rose. We're all going to get through this."

Rose smiled and took a deep breath, recomposing herself. Together, they opened the door. Outside, Scorpius was pacing like a madman, Lorcan was attempting to rip his hair out and go bald, and Hugo was leaning his ear against the thick bathroom door trying to eavesdrop, so that when the door opened he fell right at Rose and Lily's feet. Immediately, the three boys hurried to Rose, asking ten thousand questions concerning her wellbeing.

"She's _fine_!" Lily yelled to shut them up. "Really. Rose just needs to rest, that's all."

Lorcan and Hugo blinked back in surprise at Lily's outburst. Scorpius, however, scrutinized Lily and called her bluff, like she knew he would. He not-so-gently grabbed her and pulled her aside.

"What's going on?" he asked urgently. Then, he lowered his voice so the others couldn't overhear. "Those two might believe it was just some bad pumpkin juice, but if you think I'll buy that lie, then you've got another thing coming."

Lily couldn't look Scorpius in the eye. "Please, Scorpius. Don't."

He loosened his grip and when he spoke next, his tone was softer. "It's that bad? You can't even tell me?"

"Especially not you," Lily replied apologetically.

"But I thought we were a team. We keep secrets together, not from each other."

"I know. I'm sorry. You will find out soon, in due time, but right now I have to be there for Rose. You understand, don't you?"

When Lily finally looked up, she found Scorpius with a crestfallen expression on his face, as if Lily had just betrayed him to infinite proportions and punched him in the gut while she was at it, too. Her unexpected alliance with Scorpius was initiated by a shared secret. That was the link between them, the odd duo. Secrets don't make friends—unless you're Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. They have grown close in the past year, but now that she was denying him that very element of their friendship, it's like she's lost all his trust. Like the connection was just…ruined.

"It's not my secret to tell," she said firmly. She gave him a pleading look and hoped for forgiveness (she didn't even do anything wrong!) but his eyes remained cold and hard.

Then she took Rose's hand and walked back towards Gryffindor castle with her. Lorcan and Hugo quickly followed after. Scorpius didn't.

* * *

><p>The first thing Lily did when she returned to her own room was collapse face down onto her bed. Stay optimistic, Lily told herself. The baby is Lysander's. In fact, she struck the very possibility that the baby might be Scorpius's right out of her mind. Rose can decide to keep the baby or have an abortion; ultimately it's her choice. And the old prophecy and photographs can go right back to the dusty corners of Ministry shelves and attics where they belong where no one else can stumble upon them. The secret can be safe. The truth doesn't have to be revealed and Rose doesn't have to die. The baby is Lysander's and everything will be fine. (Lily felt fatigued to the bone. If she kept this up, she'll have grey hairs at fourteen.)<p>

The second thing she did when she returned to her own room was raise her head in surprise because Molly Weasley was currently tidying up the dormitory room with all the ferocity of a cleaning hurricane.

"Molly?" Lily called. Her cousin didn't respond but only carried on in her cleaning rampage, fluffing Lily's pillows for her.

"She cleans when she's worried," Cressida explained.

"But she won't tell us why she's upset," Gwen added.

Lily knew full well why Molly was upset. No one can venture into the Department of Mysteries without being thoroughly spooked. Was it really earlier that same day when they visited the Ministry? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Molly, it's going to be okay…" Lily seemed to be saying that a lot lately.

As if Lily's words broke some spell, Molly abruptly transitioned back from robotic, cleaning-obsessed Molly to worried, slightly scared Molly. "Who is the false daughter?" she asked. "Who is going to die?"

Lily could only sadly shake her head.

"You don't know or you're not telling me?" Molly inquired further, her voice raising in octaves.

It occurred to Lily that she and Molly look quite alike too. In fact, maybe it was only odds and probability that Rose was the one cursed with all this drama. What if it had been Molly, the other cousin with the same long red hair? Or rather, what if Molly was the one Lorcan asked to the Yule Ball last year and Molly was the one Scorpius accidentally kissed? But it wasn't Molly, and in a way she's lucky because of it.

"I'm sorry," Lily sighed. "Just trust me on this. I'll work everything out."

"That's just the thing!" Molly argued. "You and Scorpius keep running off with your little secret missions. I don't know what is going on. It's something bad right? But whatever it is, you can't do this on your own. Let me help you. Let all of us help you. Because when you keep things secret, you're so alone."

Maybe Molly was right. Maybe Lily Potter was nothing more than a lonely girl with too many secrets on her shoulders, threatening to crush her.

* * *

><p>The next day, Sunday, Lily was brainstorming ways to pluck a hair from Lysander's hand without raising any suspicion (because the baby has to be Lysander's; Scorpius wasn't even an option) and had come to a grand total of zero ideas. So, in search of a distraction, she discovered her dewflower was severely wilting and decided to take the plant to the greenhouse for some fertilizer. Along the way, she bumped into just the man she needed, Lysander Scamander, accompanied by Lorcan, Molly, and Lucy.<p>

What happened next pretty much shocked everyone into next week.

Apparently, when an Amazonian dewflower wilts, it doesn't necessarily lose all of its super-love-inducing abilities. So when Lily absentmindedly shifted the dewflower pot from one hand to another to wave at her friends, she shook some dewflower pollen which then permeated the surrounding air and by now we all know things get crazy when the dewflower comes out to play. Lily quickly held her breath to avoid inhaling the flower's potent scent. Lorcan's eyes became unfocused and seemed to stare off into space.

And Lysander kissed Molly.

Repeat, Lysander Scamander, who was still very much dating a very much pregnant Rose, kissed Molly Weasley, who's been pining after the _other_ Scamander this entire time.

As if things weren't complicated enough.

Still, in midst of this unexpected debacle, Lily spotted her golden opportunity. While Lorcan and Lucy and other Hogwarts students were preoccupied gawking at this deliciously scandalous event, Lily used it as the perfect distraction to sneak up beside the dewflower-intoxicated Lysander and pluck a hair from his head. He hardly noticed at all. Then she stuck the hair into a vial in her pocket, tucked the dewflower under her arm, and ran away from the scene."I'm going to get this away from them," she explained to Lorcan and Lucy. "You two slap some sense into loverboy over here."

Lily arrived at the greenhouse just as Neville Longbottom carried in wooden crates from the back.

"Hello Professor," Lily greeted with a huff. She leaned against a nearby bench to catch her breath from running across Hogwarts.

"Miss Potter? Are you alright?" He set the crates full of plants down on the table and came over to her. "Lily?"

Not only was Lily wheezing, she was also so unbelievably tired of lying, of making up excuses, of the con, that she told the truth for the first time in a long while: "No. I'm not okay."

After Professor Longbottom treated Lily's dying dewflower with some magical fertilizer, and then gave her a glass cage so as to protect the flower from any more untimely complications which was very much appreciated, he conjured up some tea and offered a cup to Lily. They sat down on the bench and peacefully drank their tea watching the blooming greenhouse flowers.

"How did you get an Amazonian dewflower in the first place?" Longbottom asked. "They're quite rare."

"Madame Belina gave it to me. I think she wanted me to use it on Scorpius to see if he actually…" Lily trailed off, blushing.

"Ah yes, how are things going with you and Mr. Malfoy?"

Lily only shook her head. Frankly, she never found the guts to purposely use the dewflower's powers on Scorpius. The last time he came in contact with the flower, back at Teddy and Victoire's wedding, he was perfectly unaffected by the flower at all. Not in love with anyone. Well, everything has changed since that wedding, months ago, but Lily was still afraid to find out the truth behind Scorpius's heart, afraid the truth is not what she wanted. And now, after that last exchange with Scorpius yesterday, Lily knew her chances with him were thinning.

"We don't have to talk about him," Longbottom quickly backtracked after he saw Lily's disillusioned frown. "I just assumed he was the cause of your troubles."

"No, no, it's not really about Scorpius." She hesitated. She couldn't exactly just tell him everything, she was still technically bound by confidentiality. But it's Neville Longbottom after all, her parents' old friend, her father and uncle's old Hogwarts roommate. If anything, perhaps he already knew and could help her. "Actually, Professor, could I ask you a question? About Aunt Hermione?"

He raised his eyebrows at this unexpected turn in conversation, but complied nevertheless. "Sure. She was a great friend of mine. What do you want to know?"

There was really no subtle approach to addressing something so massive, so Lily simply held her breath and dived right in. "Did she date Draco Malfoy?"

"How do you know about that?" Longbottom's expression turned somber as he set his teacup down and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So, she did."

He appeared conflicted for quite sometime before speaking again. "I guess if you already know, I might as well tell you the story. But let me just preface by saying everyone is allowed to make mistakes. Even your aunt Hermione. She's not perfect and she's not a saint, contrary to what the media might make her out to be."

Lily nodded and motioned for the professor to continue.

"It was 2005. The war was long over but the buzz over the war heroes persisted. The press seemed to never leave your father, Ron, and Hermione alone. Ron and Hermione had been dating for a while and everyone was anxious, waiting for Ron to propose to her already. And that's a lot of pressure, having the whole wizarding world watch your relationship like it's some spectator sport. When Hermione and Ron got into an argument and didn't speak to each other, well, they kept it a secret from everyone. Besides Harry and Ginny, only Luna and I knew about it. They didn't officially break up, I suppose, but Hermione started seeing Draco. Perhaps it was because Draco was everything Ron wasn't. Perhaps it was a sort of retaliation against the world. Anyway, I don't really know all the specifics, but soon enough, Hermione and Ron were back together, Draco was forgotten, and when Ron finally proposed, she said yes. And all was well."

Lily almost choked on her tea. Due to stress from always being "perfect", Hermione dated Draco Malfoy as "a sort of retaliation against the world"? Those words certainly echoed Rose's, beyond any reasonable doubt, and the whole thing was hitting too close for comfort. _Doomed to relive past mistakes_, over and over again.

But there was one thing not quite right about Professor Longbottom's account. He did not mention the prophecy nor the false daughter dilemma. He ended with "and all was well" for crying out loud. And let Lily be the first to tell you, all was definitely not well. Which meant even Neville Longbottom was not aware of the prophecy or the crisis over Rose Weasley's father, much like how Lily's mother seemed unaware when she asked last Christmas. There could be no other explanation. Never mind Rose's red hair. Why else would Hermione and Draco deem it necessary to keep that secret from their closest friends, why else would Draco force Scorpius to make an Unbreakable Vow never to be with Rose again, unless Rose is, in fact, Draco's daughter?

* * *

><p>At 11 pm sharp, Lily Potter sneaked into the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor. Rose was already sitting on the tiled floor before the sink, stirring her cauldron. Lily sat down beside Rose and peered into the bubbling concoction. The potion was clear but a slightly bluish vapor rose above the liquid. Moaning Myrtle had returned, hovering over them as she watched on with curiosity.<p>

"You remind me of your mother," Myrtle commented to Rose. "She used to make potions in here too."

Taking out the vial, Lily procured Lysander's hair, freshly plucked. Lily also decided that perhaps now was not the best time to inform Rose that her boyfriend was actually in love with their cousin Molly, as proven by the dewflower. Yes, the dewflower can wait.

"Alright, so first I add in a drop of my blood," Rose stated. She washed her knife from Potions class in the sink and then gingerly made the smallest cut on her finger. A single, fat drop of blood began to form on her fingertip before she tapped her finger over the cauldron and the blood fell into the potion. The blood quickly spread until the clear liquid was now a glowing pink. Lily then handed the strand of Lysander's hair to Rose. "Now I add in the hair. If Lysander is the father, then two samples will match and the potion will turn a bright golden color."

Rose dropped the piece of hair into the pink concoction.

Stay optimistic, Lily repeated to herself. Of course Lysander is the father. She's already engrained that into her mind, making it fact. It has to be Lysander. It _has_ to be.

They waited, watching the cauldron, for half an hour.

The potion never turned golden.

* * *

><p>Lily skipped all her classes on Monday and spent the day sitting curled up in the armchair in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. Every single accumulated secret whirled around her head with increasing velocity until she could barely breathe. Secrets are like mountainside stones and once one is removed, all the rest come tumbling after until there's a deadly avalanche rolling your way.<p>

She closed her eyes and tried to sort through the mess, tried to create a logical order to the chaos, a mental catalogue of her many, many secrets.

Scorpius Malfoy kissed Lily the night of the Yule Ball last year. That was the first secret. The second was Scorpius had thought she was Rose. The list continued on: Rose and Scorpius secretly dated. The girl in the photograph on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ was Rose. Scorpius's father framed Lily instead. Once, many years ago, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger also secretly dated. There was a prophecy that foretold the death of a false daughter. Rose was the false daughter. Rose and Scorpius were half-siblings. And Rose was pregnant with his child. Oh, and somewhere along the way, Lily had fallen in love with Scorpius.

The problem was that there was no solution. The prophecy stated that the next generation would make the same mistakes and pay for their parents' consequences _until _the truth is revealed. But in order for the truth to be revealed, the false daughter must also die. But if Lily doesn't reveal the truth, Rose might conceive a baby out of incest. Everything was stuck in a horrific deadlock. No amount of optimism can save them now.

When classes were over, the students began pouring into the common room again. Lily felt like she might suffocate if she stayed in there any longer, so she fled. In the hallway, she ran into Mr. Scorpius Malfoy himself. They stared at each other in tension-filled silence before he walked around her and continued his way.

"Are you not talking to me anymore?" she called after him.

"Are _you_?" he retorted back.

Okay, maybe she deserved his coldness a little bit, for leaving him in the dark just when the mystery was so close to being solved. But if only he knew the secret Lily must bear about Rose's baby, maybe then he wouldn't be walking away.

Lily's vision was then obstructed by Molly Weasley marching straight towards her and Lily knew she had it coming.

"A lot of help you were today, Lily," Molly said angrily. "Haven't you heard? Lysander and I are the new piece of gossip. Everyone in Hogwarts is talking about our kiss from yesterday. And it's all thanks to your stupid flower. You know, I defended you back when your scandal was the talk of the school and those Slytherin girls were calling you a whore. Where were you today to do the same for me?"

Now she watched Molly walk away, with Cressida, Roxanne, and Gwen trailing after her, all giving Lily disappointed looks and she couldn't help feeling like the letdown of the year.

Eventually, Lily wound up in the Astrology Tower and was surprised to find someone else had already claimed that hideaway. "Hey," she said softly, "mind if I join you?"

Lysander only looked at her with scorn. It was uncanny, seeing lighthearted Lysander look so gloom. Lily was starting to wonder which was longer, her list of secrets or the list of people who currently hate her.

"I don't have the dewflower with me this time, promise," she added, holding her empty hands up.

Lysander sighed and hung his head in shame. "I kissed Molly. Magic flower or not, Rose is still going kill me."

"Actually, I'll bet you ten galleons that she'll forgive you," Lily replied knowingly. It's only fair, right? Rose kissed Scorpius and Lysander kissed Molly; they, like, canceled each other out or something.

"Maybe you're right," he said. "I will just explain what really happened. Hugo told me about the flower, how it makes you act in love with the first person you see. Hugo even said Rose herself had been affected by the flower too, so she has to understand. Right?"

Her previous lies were beginning to come back to bite. Because she lied to Hugo, now she has to lie to Lysander. She couldn't confront Lysander about how the dewflower showed he was truly in love with Molly, because then she would also reveal Rose had been truly in love with Scorpius. Lily could hardly keep her story straight anymore.

"Um, right. That's what the dewflower does," she replied. "But Lysander, are things with you and Rose…okay? I heard you two got in a fight."

"You want an honest answer?"

Lily nodded, even though asking for someone else's honesty made her the biggest hypocrite in the world.

"No, we're not okay. Rose and I seem to be growing apart these days. We rarely hang out anymore. I think she spends more time with my brother than me. She's just been so distant, but she won't tell me what's bothering her. It's frustrating. At least I can have a decent conversation with Molly."

"So, are you going to break up with her?" Lily prompted.

"No. That wouldn't be right. I'd feel horrible."

"Why's that? I mean, if you two are growing apart, might as well."

"But it would be so wrong, after our last fight," Lysander admitted bashfully. "We were snogging, like any other couple at Hogsmeade together, and then Rose just shoved me off, saying how she wasn't in the mood. And typically, I'd respect that, but she's been shoving me off and not in the mood for weeks now! I was so annoyed with her. I don't know what came over me, but I sort of grabbed her and tried to force her to kiss me and oh, it was so terrible. I'm ashamed. Rose ran off and I didn't bother chasing after her. I was mad at myself too."

"I'm sorry," Lily muttered.

"Me too. That's why I can't break up with Rose. Then it would be like I'm dumping her just because she refuses to kiss me or have sex with me. And that's not true at all. I can totally wait until she feels ready, I don't want to rush her into anything she doesn't want to…Sorry, is this awkward for you, Little Lil?"

But something Lysander said caused Lily's train of thought to freeze dead in its tracks. Something about this didn't add up. "Wait, what do you mean wait until Rose is ready? Didn't you and Rose already…?"

"I've never slept with Rose, if that's what you're asking."

Lily's mind simply could not comprehend Lysander's words. How could it be? Rose specifically said that she had sex with Lysander the night after the Quidditch game because she felt guilty about being with Scorpius. That's why there was a dilemma over the baby in the first place. That's why Lily had to pluck a hair from Lysander for the potion. Either there was some firewhiskey at the after-party and Lysander got so drunk out of his mind that he didn't remember that night, or there was some key part of the big picture they were missing. How. Could. It. Be.

"Little Lil?" Lysander waved a hand over Lily's unblinking face.

_Little Lil_.

That's when everything clicked together.

The night of the first Quidditch game also coincided with the Slughorn Club dinner, which Lily, Scorpius, Molly, and Lorcan attended instead of the game and after-party. And after the whole Extendable Ears fiasco—resulting in much embarrassment on the girls' part and much smugness on the boys' part—Lorcan departed with an iconic, "Later, Little Lil." Lily distinctly remembered this because Scorpius then copied Lorcan with another "Later, Little Lil." Oh, this could potentially solve everything! How could she have not noticed back then? How could she have been so ignorant until now?

Because Lorcan doesn't call Lily "Little Lil." Only _Lysander_ calls her that.

She thought back to the night of Teddy and Victoire's wedding, when the Scamander twins impersonated each other so well, only Lily was able to tell them apart. Except this time, they even had Lily fooled. This time, they pulled the greatest con of all.

Now it all made sense; why Lysander was falling in love with Molly, why Lorcan was always by Rose's side, why the potion showed Lysander was not the baby's father. Lily had taken the wrong Scamander's hair! That night, months ago, Lysander never slept with Rose for he was busy eavesdropping on Lily and Molly's conversation with Extendable Ears.

That night, months ago, Lysander and Lorcan switched places.


	11. The Daughter

chapter eleven  
><em>the daughter<em>

After the Eureka moment when Lily deduced the Scamander twins had switched places—and completely screwed everything up—and then kept it a secret this whole time, she did the first thing that came to her mind. She slapped Lysander.

"Ow! What was that for?" he shrieked, clutching his left cheek.

But Lily had no time to scold him for causing such tremendous grief or to explain to him that Lorcan had gotten the better end of the deal since, oh you know, he _had sex with Rose while pretending to be Lysander_. Yeah, pretty sure that tidbit hadn't come up in conversation between the twins. She couldn't believe they would do something so careless; were they playing Rose and Molly for fools? Outraged and fully irate, Lily grabbed Lysander's wrist and yanked him down the stairs of the Astronomy Tower.

"Where is your brother?" she shouted over her shoulder.

"Why?" Lysander yelled back, stumbling down the steps after her. "Are you going to slap him too?"

"Yes."

Lily angrily stalked the hallway with a confused, recently-slapped, and slightly scared Lysander in tow. They had just made it to the Grand Staircase when Albus came running in their direction. Lily groaned at the interruption and came to a reluctant halt.

"Whatever it is, can it wait?" she asked her brother. "I have to deal with something really important."

"Not as important as this," Albus said. "Dad's here. And Aunt Hermione and Draco Malfoy. They want to see you and Rose and Scorpius."

Okay, so maybe Albus was right. Whatever it was, it indeed sounded more important. Hermione and Draco were both here at Hogwarts, together, demanding to see the two kids who uncovered the prophecy and the false daughter. No way was this a mere coincidence. They found out, Lily just knew it. Somehow, they found out that Lily and Scorpius found out about the secret prophecy and now everything is in jeopardy. And on top of it all, somehow her father was involved too. Typical Harry Potter.

"You need to go, Lily. Like, _now_. Scorpius is already there," Albus ushered. "And have either of you seen Rose? She wasn't in class all day today."

Now Lily's level of worry doubled. Lily had ditched classes because she was knee-deep in crisis mode. She's the confidant after all, so she was the only person who knew the full scope of the problem, from the prophecy and the pregnancy. And since she was the only person who knew everything, she was busy panicking the day away trying to come up with an impossible solution. But Rose didn't know about the prophecy or that her baby might be her half-brother Scorpius's (or it could be Lorcan's, oh thank heavens, it could be Lorcan's) so why did Rose skip her classes? Rose had told Lily there were still some "things" she had to deal with before telling her mum about her pregnancy and Lily was only now wondering what those "things" might pertain.

"I haven't seen her," Lysander answered. "Actually, I haven't seen her since our fight on Saturday."

Lily shook her head as well. Not only did Rose not attend classes, but she also didn't hide out in the common room or return to her dorm room, since Lily was in the common room all day. Lily's level of worry increased tenfold.

Stay optimistic, Lily told herself once more. Maybe Rose is in the library? She loves the library, right?

Well, so much for optimism, because right then, Moaning Myrtle flew over towards Lily, Albus, and Lysander. Yes, you read that correctly. _Moaning Myrtle_. Of course, Hogwarts castle is well-known for its population of ghosts that roam its walls. Ghost professors, ghost pranksters, even ghost parties. So, seeing a ghost emerge from a wall should be no surprising circumstance…except for Moaning Myrtle. Ever since Myrtle died in the girls' bathroom on the second floor, she has been haunting the Hogwarts bathrooms, and only the bathrooms. Not a single soul has seen Myrtle outside the bathrooms, ever.

Until now.

"Lily Potter!" Myrtle wailed in her high-pitched voice. "Lily Potter, come quick! Rose is killing the baby! She's killing the baby!"

Lily's level of worry rose so high it shattered the scale altogether.

"WHAT BABY?" Albus and Lysander both yelled. They looked between the wailing ghost and the stunned redhead, desperate for answers that neither would give.

"She came in the bathroom…made black potion…and she…" Myrtle trailed off and was now moaning incomprehensible words, but for once, she was crying for someone other than herself. Lily felt like her stomach just dropped down to the dungeon and back again. The news were so shocking, her brain was frozen, refusing to process the information. Everything that could possibly go wrong had gone awfully wrong.

"Lily!" Albus shook his sister by the shoulders. "What's going on?"

That snapped her out of her shell-shocked stupor. All the emotions rushed in at once. She was distressed and overwhelmed and nauseous and downright terrified but she had to hold it together for Rose's sake because if Lily broke down now, who would be able to fix this disaster in time? Lily took a deep breath and tapped her inner Gryffindor, something brave about her that the Sorting Hat once saw years ago.

"There's no time to explain. Al, go back and tell everyone to hurry to the girls' bathroom on the second floor if they want to save Rose. Lysander, go find Lorcan," Lily ordered before turning around and following Myrtle down the flight of stairs.

"And what are you doing?" Lysander called out after her.

"Trying to stop Rose from making a huge mistake," Lily replied.

The three broke off, running in different directions. As Lily sprinted after the ghost, she briefly entertained the thought that she might be making a habit of careening down Hogwarts hallways.

When they reached the bathroom, Myrtle vanished right through the door. Lily, sadly not an ethereal being, had to actually stop and open the door before entering. Again, the door was locked. But this time, a simple _alohamora _didn't do the trick. Rose had put obviously put up new protective enchantments, determined for no one to stop her. If Rose Weasley, girl genius, cast the spells, how in the world was Lily supposed to figure out the counterspells?

"Rose! Let me in!" Lily pounded on the door. No response.

Any other time, Lily would have sat down and thoroughly examined the problem or maybe rack her brain for some lesson in Charms that might come in handy in a situation like this. But this was a code red emergency so Lily did the first thing she thought of. She aimed her wand at the door and shouted, "_Diffindo!_"

The entire door crumbled and Lily walked through the gaping hole in the wall she just blasted. A bit elementary, but it worked.

This time, the sight was exactly Lily's worst expectations. Rose knelt on the floor of the bathroom before her caldron which now contained a thick, black sludge. Lily was never the best at Potions, but even she could tell that slime had "dangerous black magic" written all over it. Seemingly unfazed by the loud noise of Lily blowing the door down, Rose scooped some of that black potion into a goblet and raised it to her lips. Myrtle incessantly tried to take the goblet away, but each time her hand only went through the cup.

Any other time, Lily would have had the common sense to realize she was holding a wand in her hand and she could just say "_Accio goblet_" and summon the cup right from Rose's hand. But she was in a code red panic so she did the first thing she thought of. She ran straight for Rose and tackled her cousin to the floor. Lily, fortunately not an ethereal being, managed to knock the goblet away where Myrtle failed. In fact, Lily also tipped over the entire cauldron in the process, spilling the noxious black liquid all over the tiles.

"Rose, what the hell are you doing?" Lily asked.

Rose coughed, choking on the small bit of potion she did drink. "I can't keep the baby," she explained between coughs.

"You need to think it through," Lily argued. "You're making rash decisions."

"No, I'm not. There's only ever been one reason for me to keep the baby," Rose said. She coughed a few more times before she could speak again. "I thought that, if the baby was Scorpius's, and I keep it, then that would make Scorpius stay. I was selfish, Lily. I only wanted him to stay."

"The baby's not—" Now the toxic fumes of the potion were starting to get to Lily too and she joined Rose in her coughing fit. Lily tried to tell Rose about the Lorcan/Lysander switcheroo but she couldn't stop coughing. She couldn't even breathe. Some of the black potion that spilt onto the floor got on Lily's clothes and she couldn't escape the stench.

"But I saw the way your face fell, when the test turned out negative for Lysander," Rose continued. "You love Scorpius, Lily. I know you do. And the way he looked at you when he pulled you aside Saturday, after you got me out of here! He's never looked at me like that. Lily, I'm so sorry. I won't compete with you anymore, Scorpius is yours."

Hearing Rose misinterpret just about every recent event, Lily got even more worked up and her coughing didn't cease. "What is this stuff?" she asked. "If you want an abortion, you go to St. Mungo's! This potion isn't safe!"

By then, Rose was coughing so badly she couldn't speak. Her face had paled and her lips turned blue. Suddenly, she was doubling over, clenching her stomach in pain. Lily wanted to reach out and help Rose but her own head was spinning and the coughs continued to rack her body. She prayed Albus would show up with the others because who knows how long Lily and Rose can last in here.

Then, just like that, Rose stopped moving. She fell back against the stained tiles, motionless, eyes shut. The bathroom filled with Myrtle's distressed cries overhead. Lily unsteadily crawled over to Rose and shook her arm. "Rose! Rose!"

Rose can't die now, not like this. When the prophecy stated the false daughter would die, it never said anything about the death being under the daughter's own hand. But prophecies were cruel tricks.

Finally, the others arrived. Draco was the first one in and he dashed to Rose's side, checking for vital signs and finding her unconscious. "Hermione!" he called worriedly.

Hermione, the next to appear, widened her eyes when she took in the scene. She crouched down before the black potion spill and coughed at the smell. "This is," she coughed into her sleeve, "this is Nightlock Potion!"

Harry was the third to arrive. He hurried to Lily and held her as her body shook violently with coughs.

"We have to get the girls out of here," Hermione stated. "If too much Nightlock Potion gets in their system, it could be lethal. But I don't understand, where did they get this?"

"Rose made it!" Myrtle cried out.

"Moaning Myrtle?" Harry noticed his old ghost friend for the first time. "Myrtle! Do you know what happened?"

"Rose made the potion and I told her to stop but she wouldn't listen to me!" Myrtle said.

Lily put her hand on her aunt's arm to get her attention. "She looked in your Healer books," Lily explained with a weak voice. "Rose...she's…she's pregnant."

Just as Lily finished speaking those words, she looked up to find Scorpius standing in the doorway with his jaw dropped. He had heard everything. Soon Albus showed up as well, followed by Lysander, Lorcan, and all the Weasley cousins. But Lily kept her gaze locked on Scorpius. Now you know, she silently told him, now you know what I've been keeping from you. Please don't hate me.

And then the room seemed to spin in all directions at once. Someone was insistently calling her name, but it sounded far away. Was it her dad, her brother, Scorpius? There were hands on her, shaking her, holding her, but her body and her mind had become unresponsive. Her vision blurred, her limbs fell slack, and everything faded to black.

* * *

><p>To be perfectly honest, Lily thought she had died.<p>

Aunt Hermione had said the Nightlock Potion could be lethal if they breathed in too much and Lily had already been in the bathroom for a long while before the others showed up. If the fumes didn't do the trick, then Lily was certain she had coughed herself to death. Maybe she and Rose would become ghosts, too, and haunt the girls' bathroom on the second floor alongside Myrtle. Wouldn't that be a laugh.

But then Lily realized that if she was dead, she wouldn't have the ability to think. Then her ears started picking up faint noises and she realized that if she was dead, she wouldn't have the ability to hear, either. Then she felt someone repeatedly poking her left arm and she realized that if she was dead, she wouldn't have the ability to be utterly annoyed at this jerkface, whoever it was. With some effort, she slowly opened her lethargic eyes.

"About time you woke up."

She blinked a few times at the person who was still incessantly poking her arm. The annoying jerkface was Scorpius? When he saw Lily's dazed expression, he smirked in true Scorpius fashion.

"Where am I?" she asked. She looked around and discovered she was lying on a bed in a sectioned off portion of a room, walled in by blue curtains.

"You're in St. Mungo's Hospital," Scorpius replied. "You fainted from breathing in the Nightlock Potion fumes, remember? We brought you here and you've been unconscious for almost 12 hours now."

Lily's eyes widened and she turned to look at the clock hanging from the wall. It was half past three in the morning, no lie.

"But, where is everyone?" Lily looked around the empty room once more. Not that Scorpius was bad company, it's just you'd think her family would all be here swarming around her bed saying how they've been so worried about her, et cetera. Instead, her awakening welcome reception consisted of one smug Scorpius Malfoy sitting on a chair at her bedside.

"Well, the Healer said you were going to be fine but probably wouldn't wake for another six hours, so your father insisted your mother and your brothers get some sleep since there's no reason for all of them to stay up. They're just on the other side of those curtains, sleeping on the couches. It's just been me and Mr. Harry Potter tonight. Your father literally just left a second ago to get something to drink and then you finally opened your eyes."

"Because _somebody_ kept poking me," she stated pointedly. When he still didn't take the hint, she pulled her arm away from his jabbing. "Would you quit it?"

Scorpius chuckled and Lily wondered how he could be in such high spirits when she had been so close to death.

"Hey," he shrugged, "I had to wake you up somehow."

"Don't you know the stories? You're supposed to kiss the girl awake from her deep slumber, not poke her awake, idiot."

She meant it as a harmless joke, as a ha-ha friendly jibe. Never in a million years did she think he would actually lean down and kiss her.

That's three times he's kissed her now, and all three times extremely unexpected, leaving her shocked and defenseless. For a second, she was scared she might faint again. But her consciousness didn't betray her this time and when Scorpius pulled away, Lily quirked up an eyebrow.

"I'm already awake," she stated.

"Oh okay, just making sure."

She laughed. She missed this jovial side of Scorpius. Ever since the prophecy began to unfold, Lily and Scorpius had been so busy with their secrets that they didn't have time to be themselves.

She sat up and Scorpius helped rearrange her pillows so she could comfortably lean against them. "So, you told me where my family was, but where is everyone else?" she asked.

The smile disappeared right off Scorpius's face. He didn't answer, only looked to the right. Lily followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at the curtains that divided Lily's section from the neighboring patient's. It didn't take her long to figure out who that patient was.

"Rose?"

"Yeah. You were lucky, Lily, you only breathed in some of the Nightlock Potion's fumes. But Rose actually drank some of the potion, so she's in a much worse condition than you."

"She's going to be okay, right?"

He hesitated before responding, and hesitation is never good. "We don't know for sure."

That was a vicious blow to the heart. If Rose died…no. Lily refused to finish that thought, because even acknowledging the sheer possibility that Rose might not make it would mean that Lily had failed. No matter how you twist the turn of events, you can't deny that this was all (at least partially) Lily Potter's fault.

Before Scorpius could stop her, Lily pulled the blanket away from her, tossed her legs over the side of the bed, and hopped onto her bare feet. She had managed all of two steps before her knees gave out. She would have wobbled to the floor if Scorpius hadn't sprung out of his seat and caught her.

"You have to lie down, Lily," he said exasperatedly. "Hermione's orders."

"No, I have to see Rose," she argued back. "My orders."

Scorpius looked up towards the ceiling and groaned. "You're impossible, you know that?"

Lily just grinned and took that as her victory. She slowly made her way to the curtain separating her and Rose, leaning against Scorpius for support. And by "leaning against Scorpius for support," she really meant making Scorpius half-carry her over. She reached out and gently pulled the curtain aside.

Lying on the standard hospital bed, Rose Weasley has never looked so frail and vulnerable. Her skin was still as pale as it was after she drank the potion, her face appeared to cave in beneath the cheekbones, and even her hair, usually so brilliant and voluminous, seemed lackluster and deflated. The covers were tucked up to her shoulder, making her look incredibly small, like the bed was swallowing her whole. She had one arm out above the blanket and Aunt Hermione desperately grasped Rose's hand with both of hers. Hermione had changed into her official Healer uniform and must have been busy personally treating both Rose and Lily, but now in the early hours of the morning, she had fallen asleep by her daughter's side because there was nothing more she could do.

Evidently, the entire family came to the hospital. sometime in the night. Uncle Ron and Hugo were both sleeping on two stiff chairs on the other side of Rose's bed. Roxanne, Dominique, and Grandma Molly were asleep on the sofa in the corner of the room. Molly, Lucy, Lysander, and Lorcan were also there, the four of them squeezed onto three chairs. They were all asleep and Lily noticed Molly was tucked underneath Lysander's arm. Molly and Lysander were the one little happy ending in this sea of disaster and it was something to smile about.

The second curtain in Rose's room was partially open, so that Lily could look out into the hall. As Scorpius said, James, Albus, and Ginny had fallen asleep in the chairs outside. What Scorpius didn't mention was that _everyone_ was asleep on the chairs outside. All of Lily's aunts and uncles and the remaining cousins not in Rose's room were cramped in the waiting area outside. The Weasley-Potter clan conquered the hospital, for all intents and purposes.

It was a bittersweet image—heartwarming to have the entire family here for support, but heartbreaking that it required a life-threatening crisis to bring them all together. When was the last time Lily saw everyone together under the same roof? What's more, when was the last time Uncle Percy left the Ministry long enough to be with family? Not Christmas, not the annual camp-out, not even Teddy and Victoire's wedding.

Goodness. Fourteen years and Lily Potter finally realized her famous family never quite lived up to expectations.

Something caught her eye and when she turned around, she was surprised to see Draco Malfoy standing in the other corner of Rose's room. It's funny, because Lily hadn't even noticed Scorpius's father the first time she scanned the room. Draco was watching Rose sleep with grief in his heavy eyes. Technically, he was her father. Even though Draco has probably never spoken to Rose, anyone could see that this man obvious cares for this girl. After a while, Draco looked up at Lily and Scorpius, the three of them the only awake souls in the witching hour. He gave them a small nod. Lily had so many burning questions for this mysterious man, but before she could say a word, Scorpius was pulling her back towards her own bed.

"You've seen Rose, now you really need to rest," he ordered.

She complied and climbed back into bed. Her eyelids fluttered shut automatically and she heard him settle back into his seat next to her. The questions had to wait. Right. Wait until morning. Except…

"Hey Scorpius?" she whispered tiredly.

"Go to sleep," he muttered.

"Just one more question."

"Lily, just—"

"Why are you here?" She sputtered out the question before he could tell her to shut up again. "I thought you weren't speaking to me anymore."

He only chuckled in response, which was weird since Lily didn't recall saying anything particularly humorous. But the aftershock of inhaling the potion proved to be more exhausting that expected and she drifted off to sleep before she could bother Scorpius with any more questions. The last thing she remembered was Scorpius taking her hand.

By the time Harry Potter finally found that something to drink and returned, Lily was already deep asleep and assumed her previous position, so it appeared she hadn't awoken at all. Scorpius fell asleep too with his head resting on the side of the bed. But Lily and Scorpius's hands were lying over the blanket in a mess of intertwined fingers, and Harry wondered how that happened.

* * *

><p>Lily woke again later in the day when the sunlight was steadily streaming from the windows and this time, she was welcomed with the sight of all her family and friends leaning over her bed wearing matching smiles of relief. Everyone began talking at once, imploring Lily how she felt, if she was okay, if she was hungry, if there was anything they could do for her, and everyone cycled through to give her a hug and complimentary kiss on the forehead. But seeing Lily lively and well could only tide them over for so long and eventually, the pivotal question was asked.<p>

"Can someone please explain what's going on now?" Uncle Bill voiced everyone's thoughts.

Everyone looked expectantly at Lily and Scorpius, who then looked expectantly at Hermione and Draco, who then shared a worried look with Harry, and all five of them looked at Rose, still unconscious in the next bed. It was like a game in which no one could look anyone else in the eye.

"Prophecies don't have power within themselves," Harry reasoned. "So anything that will happen should already have happened. What we say now should not impact Rose."

"But what if it does?" Hermione argued back.

"Hermione, I know it's nice to think that if we don't reveal the truth, Rose will be fine. But nothing we say or don't say will make any difference," Harry insisted.

Hermione sighed in defeat and nodded, knowing Harry was right.

"Besides," Draco added, "the kids already know about the prophecy."

"I thought it was only Lily and Scorpius. Who else knows?"

Molly and James sheepishly raised their hands.

"Am I the only one who is still confused?" Fred interrupted the conversation. Behind him, the others all agreed. "What happened to Lily and Rose? And what the hell is this prophecy?"

The avalanche of lies and inevitably smashed onto the ground and there was no other option but the truth.

Hermione took a deep breath, and told them everything from the very beginning. She told them about her and Ron's secret break-up and her subsequent fling with Draco Malfoy. After she got back together with Ron, she discovered she was pregnant and wasn't quite sure whose baby it was. But Ron stubbornly believed the baby was his and quickly set the date for them to wed. Rose Weasley was born with a head full of red hair, so the case was settled, or so they thought. It was a few months after Rose was born when Hermione and Draco both get invited to meet a mysterious stranger in Diagon Alley. When they arrived, the stranger turned out to be a prophetess who gave them the foreboding prophecy. She had specifically addressed Hermione and Draco and mentioned a "false daughter," so it really wasn't that difficult to put two and two together.

"You mean, Rose is Draco's daughter?" Ginny cried, lunging for Hermione. "How could you lie to us like that? How could you lie to Ron like that?"

"She didn't lie to me," Ron said in defense of his wife. "I knew that she had been with Malfoy. I knew from before the prophecy."

"And you were okay with it?" Ginny asked.

"Rose is _my_ daughter," Ron asserted with all the conviction in the world. "I never believed she was the false daughter. But even if she is Malfoy's daughter, that doesn't change anything. I still love her."

Hermione looked at Ron with admiration and hugged his waist as tears threaten to pour from her eyes. Lily turned her head and looked over at the sleeping Rose, hoping she could somehow hear everything being said because Rose truly had the best parents.

The curtain between Lily and Rose had previously been completely pulled open so Lily from her bed could see right across to Rose in hers. And while Ginny and Ron bickered some more, Lily noticed something odd about Rose. Her fingers twitched, ever so slightly. Her lungs rose and fell a bit quicker than the steady rhythm from before. Her eyes seemed to move behind her shut lids. Then, just as Lily was about to tap Scorpius's arm to alert him, Rose suddenly opened her eyes. Lily felt her mouth open and close a few times in shock but Rose's blue eyes made contact with Lily's and the older cousin winked before shutting her eyes again, feigning sleep. Lily quickly turned her head back to the ensuing scene; no one else seemed to have noticed.

"I just don't understand why you couldn't have told us. Your own family," Grandma Molly said.

"It's the prophecy," Harry said. "We were afraid that if we told anyone, Rose might die."

"But it looks like _you_ knew all about it!" Ginny retorted.

Hermione quickly stepped in to explain, "Of course I told Harry. I mean, we tell each other everything. He's my confidant."

Lily perked up at the word "confidant." _That_'s why her father was involved in this madness. The same reason Lily was involved in this madness herself. Children follow their parents' footsteps after all, and it's in the Potter blood to bear secrets.

"But right after we told Harry, Rose fell ill," Hermione continued. "We were so scared she might not make it. That's when the prophecy became real to us. We were afraid that if we told anyone else, Rose would surely die. That's why we couldn't tell any of you. We couldn't even tell Rose. We kept it all secret because we wanted to protect her, more than anything."

However, in censoring their children from the truth, they actually pushed the children in the direction of danger. How was Rose supposed to know that when her father warned her to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy that first day on Platform 9 ¾, he was actually serious, as in that-boy-might-be-your-half-brother serious? How were the innocent children supposed to know without the guidance of their paranoid, tight-lipped parents? Again, it was a deadlock, a double negative, a lose-lose situation every time.

Hermione had finished telling her portion of the tale now and Lily realized with a start she would have to continue the story from here.

Lily told them how Rose and Scorpius began dating, how Lily then later found them out, and how everything was fine and dandy until the newspaper article was printed. That's when Hermione, Draco, and Harry figured out what was going on and they _panicked_. They pulled Lily and Scorpius from school and they made sure that no letter from Lily, Scorpius, or Rose was ever mailed to the newspapers. They let the world think the girl in the picture was Lily, because at least Lily wasn't related to Scorpius. Draco even made Scorpius swear an Unbreakable Vow and wrote Lily an anonymous letter in an effort to prevent the secret from being exposed. But the letter only managed to confuse Lily and Scorpius, piquing their curiosity and drawing them into mystery. So they found the pictures in the attic, they found the prophecy record ("What? No, of course we didn't _break into _the Ministry of Magic, Uncle Percy!") and they deduced the truth.

"…and then Rose told me she was pregnant," Lily said. This was met with a series of gasps, as expected. "The baby could've been Lysander's or Scorpius's, so we did a test and the baby did not match Lysander. We assumed it was Scorpius's baby then. Which meant we had a big problem."

Then Draco took over the story. He explained how he found a stray picture lying on the floor of the attic, a picture Lily and Scorpius must have missed in their hasty retreat. He questioned Gnobbs, the house-elf, who confirmed it was indeed the two kids. Draco then went to the Hall of Prophecy and indeed, the record of his prophecy was missing. He immediately informed Hermione and Harry and the three of them went to Hogwarts as fast as they could, but still too late, for Rose had already drank the Nightlock Potion.

"But there's more!" Lily exclaimed. Now they reached the part of the story only she knew. "The baby might not necessarily be Scorpius's."

"But you just said the test confirmed Lysander was not the father," Albus pointed out.

"Of course I'm not the father," Lysander said with frustration. "I never had sex with Rose."

"So then who did?" Lily stared right at Lorcan in a penetrating gaze. She knew and there was no escaping now, dear Lorcan.

He blushed furiously, but finally stepped forward to plead guilty. "Alright, it was me. A few months ago, I had agreed to go to the Slughorn Club dinner with Molly. I wasn't really paying attention when she said the date. I didn't realize it was the same night as the Quidditch game. When I remembered Molly, I was already up on the stands and the game had already started. And, well frankly, I really didn't want to go to some fancy dinner instead of watch the game, but I couldn't just stand Molly up. So I convinced Lysander to go in my place. Since Lysander was pretending to be me, I had to pretend to be Lysander, to keep out stories straight. I didn't even think about what I would tell Rose. I was going to tell her, I swear, but then she…and we…and…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Lorcan Scamander, I'm going to kill you!"

The shrill voice startled everyone. They all turned at the direction in disbelief, for it was Rose. She wasn't even putting up the smallest act of sleeping anymore; she was sitting upright and full-out gawking at Lorcan, incredulous glare and everything.

Fortunately for Lorcan, his declared demise was delayed as the entire Weasley-Potter-Scamander-Lupin ensemble migrated from Lily's bed to Rose's and the process of pestering questions and hugs began over again.

"I feel fine," Rose assured the crowd. "A little embarrassed that you just discussed my love life in full detail, and a lot angry at Lorcan, but fine."

Lily beckoned Scorpius over and made him half-carry her to Rose again. From over their relatives' heads, Lily and Rose beamed at each other. They were okay now. No matter what, they were survivors.

"This is a miracle!" Hermione cried, hugging her daughter. "You're fine, you're perfectly fine. The prophecy was wrong."

"But how can the prophecy just be blatantly wrong like that?" Scorpius asked.

"Who cares? Rose is alive and that's all that matters!" Hugo cheered.

The celebrating continued for a few more joyful minutes, and even the other Healers and patients had joined in from across the room. Everyone was happy. And then, they remembered.

"Wait, Mum, what about my baby?" Rose instinctively reached for her stomach.

Hermione's face turned grave and tears formed in her eyes. "Rose, I'm so sorry. The baby's gone. The Nightlock Potion killed the baby."

Oh. _Oh._

The last puzzle piece, the piece Lily didn't even know was missing, fell firmly into place. Lily almost felt a tremor at the enormity of this epiphany. _Of course_. They'd been under the wrong assumption all along.

Prophecies were clever tricks.

"Uncle Ron is right. Rose _isn't_ the false daughter." All eyes turned to Lily as she spoke. "The prophecy stated that the truth will be revealed as the false daughter dies. Well, the truth has been revealed and Rose is still very much alive. Don't you get it? It was the baby! It was always the baby! Rose's baby was the false daughter in the prophecy."

* * *

><p><strong>note: <strong>plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. a gold star to hushpuppy22 for correctly guessing that the baby is the false daughter.

so, there will be one last chapter after this. i'm keeping my word, the story will indeed be twelve chapters long. and just think, i originally wanted this to be a oneshot. anyway, i'll try really hard to get ch. 12 up soon. i actually could have finished editing and posted this chapter hours ago, but a friend suddenly came over and i've never exited out of ffnet so fast. alas, the secret life of a fanfic author.

i try not to ask too much, but please review? it would make my world if this story got 100 reviews by the end :)


	12. The End

**note: **guys, i'm so sad this story has finally ended. it's like my little baby's all grown up now. writing this last chapter was really difficult, because it's like, this is the last time we'll see lily and scorpius again. (also, i've been obsessed with doctor who lately and whenever i typed "rose" i kept thinking rose tyler instead of rose weasley, so that was distracting.) sorry it's so short, it's just that after stretching an idea for a oneshot into a twelve-chaptered fic, you start running out of words to write.

thank you for reading. seriously. the fact that you've stuck around for 12 twelve chapters really means a lot to me :)

* * *

><p><span>chapter twelve<span>  
><em>the end<em>

Everything started the night of the Yule Ball in Lily Potter's third year. And everything ended with the death of the baby girl who never got the chance to be.

Finally, the truth had been revealed and they escaped the stronghold of the prophecy, yet no one felt at ease. After Lily's ultimate revelation, everyone fell silent. No one spoke for no one knew what to say, no one knew what to feel. On one hand, nothing has really changed. Marriages were still intact, Rose was still Ron's daughter, no horrific act of incest was committed, and no one died. But on the other hand, all prospects of what-could-have-been haunt their thoughts. For a brief moment, Rose _might_ have been Scorpius's daughter, the baby _might_ have been Scorpius's daughter, and a new addition to the family _might_ have survived. Nothing has really changed, and yet everything has. They were all utterly crushed by the abundance of secrets and it would take time to resurface again.

Rose took the news the hardest, which makes sense since the series of events did all revolve around her. The poor girl fell into a depressed state, requesting everyone to leave, refusing to speak to anyone, and shutting the curtains against the world.

"Just give her some space," Draco had instructed, which then prompted a harsh "You're not her father, Malfoy" from Ron, and then the situation got uncomfortable for everyone.

But it didn't take long for the curtains to open again. That girl was way too logical for her own good; all she had to do was think really hard and analyze her way out of any situation. After a few hours of everyone just sitting around, suffering from the aftertaste of secrets, Rose stepped out with defiance. The fire was back in her eyes at last and she had a well-formulated plan in mind, as Rose often does. And she singlehandedly tied up all loose ends and fixed everything, as Rose often does.

First, Rose officially broke up with Lysander. Their relationship was too dishonest to ever work out. Rose cheated on him, Lysander fell in love with Molly after switching places with Lorcan, and at the end of the day, they were simply two perfect people who weren't perfect for each other.

Next, she tracked down Lorcan and gave him such a scolding for having tricked her into having sex with him that by the end of the reprimanding he was cowering in a corner. But as she turned to leave, he summed up the courage and grabbed her hand to stop her. He confessed that yes, he was wrong to deceive Rose that night, but he never expected that in the aftermath, he would actually fall in love with her. Because that's what happened. Lorcan Scamander, scumbag extraordinaire, lied to get Rose in bed with him and then couldn't get her out of his head ever again. He reminded her that, technically, for a few precious months, they'd had a kid together. And yes, maybe they were going about it completely out of sequence but if she'll just give him a second chance, he swore he would do it right. She peered into his bright eyes, so like his brother's and yet so unlike, and decided to forgive him. So she stretched out her hand and said "Hi, I'm Rose," and he followed along, shaking her hand with a "Hi, I'm Lorcan," and the story of Rose and Lorcan began anew.

Then, she approached Draco Malfoy. The two had never spoken before this incident, so they stood off rather awkwardly, unsure of how to act around each other. Finally, Rose stepped forward and gave him a hug. Draco was quite shocked and asked her what the hug was for. Rose replied, for watching over her, for being her guardian all these years, even when she wasn't aware. For being the best almost-father in the world.

(To this day, Uncle Ron still refuses to do a paternity test to find out who Rose's father is, once and for all. Ginny says it's just Ron's stubborn pride, Uncle George says Ron is just afraid to know, but Lily thinks it's neither. Ron doesn't need to know, because the test result wouldn't change a thing. He would always care for her, and the same goes for Draco. If you stay optimistic, as Lily relentlessly tries to do, Rose may have lost a daughter, but she found another father along the way.)

Lastly, Rose said goodbye to Scorpius, for good.

Which Lily was still confused about, because they weren't related anymore so why couldn't they get together again? But Rose and her cousins and even Lily's father keep looking at Lily and Scorpius with this knowing smile and Lily hated feeling like the last to know.

"You still haven't told me," Lily said to Scorpius the next morning as they all prepared to leave the hospital.

"Told you what?"

"Why you stayed with me all night instead of Rose. Why you came back. I'm just you're little confidant but there are no secrets left and you're still here."

"You know why."

"I don't."

He sighed and took her hand in his as he spoke. "Look, sometimes I'm going to act like a bloody git. It's unavoidable. I'm a Malfoy; it's in my blood. When you refused to tell me what was wrong with Rose, I thought you were purposely keeping it a secret from me. I thought you were ditching me, after everything we've been through together, and I overreacted, okay? Never in a million years did I think Rose might be pregnant. But when your brother came running and told us what happened, we all ran for the bathroom. But then all the students crowded around when they saw the great Harry Potter and I got held up in the commotion. By the time I finally reached you, it was too late. And I was so scared that I would lose you."

By "scared that I would lose you," he surely meant the plural form of the word "you," as in both Lily and Rose. Because he couldn't possibly mean the singular form of the word "you," as in just Lily. Could he? Oh, this was going to drive Lily crazy. Don't toy with an unstable teenage girl's emotions!

"It's all my fault," he continued. "It was my stupid idea to find the prophecy. If you go back far enough, you could even say the newspaper scandal was my fault too. And when I was waiting for you to wake up, all these horrible thoughts ran through my head. What if something happened to you and it was my responsibility? What if something happened to you and I never got the chance to tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Perhaps Lily was playing the extreme naivety card here, but she needed to hear him say it.

He rubbed his face tiredly with his hand. "You still don't get it, do you _Lily_?"

Just the way he said her name, all deep and throaty and beautiful, was enough to make her melt into a puddle of Lily-flavored jelly. Hope swelled inside her, a persistent hope that's always been in the back of her mind, even in the lowest of times. A hope that maybe they could be another small happy ending in this sea of disaster too. _The way he looked at you when he pulled you aside, _Rose had said, _He's never looked at me like that…_ _Scorpius is yours_. Her high hopes would be the death of her.

"You keep thinking you're just the rebound girl, the next best thing I turn to when the girl I love happens to be my sister or whatever. But Rose has nothing to do with this. The Unbreakable Vow makes no difference. Rose isn't the girl I want to be with.

"It's you," he said at last, "it's always you."

The first time he kissed her, he thought she was Rose, so that didn't count. The second time he kissed her, it was a little peck after she inadvertently suggested finding the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, so that hardly counted. The third time he kissed her, it was a joking response to her quip about kissing princesses awake, so that didn't really count either. But now, as Scorpius leaned down and captured her lips with his, oh, this counted.

(Lily will never know with absolute certainty if Scorpius really does love her back, since she donated her dewflower to Professor Longbottom the first day back to Hogwarts. Just like how they'll never know who Rose's biological father is, or who the actual baby daddy is, this will remain a leap of faith Lily is more than willing to take. She just has to look into those sparkling grey eyes and know it's so, so real.)

And then the beautiful moment was rudely interrupted by James obnoxiously coughing in their faces.

"Listen up, Malfoy," James said. "Even though the thought of you and my little sister makes me want to vomit slugs—"

Lily punched James in the arm.

He rubbed his arm and continued warily, "I'm just warning you. If you hurt her…" James didn't even need to finish that sentence. James, Albus, and the entire entourage of cousins gave Scorpius simultaneous stinkeyes. Lily had to stifle her laughter at Scorpius's frightened expression. Being the baby of the family evidently does come with advantages.

It's funny if you think about it, though. In the beginning, Molly was in love with Lorcan, who liked Lily, who was infatuated with Scorpius, who adored Rose, who was dating Lysander, all in one disastrous chain of lies and unrequited love. Look at them now. Isn't love but a fickle thing? Lily smiled to herself as she walked alongside Scorpius, their fingers interlocked. Suddenly, he took off running, pulling Lily along behind him and practically dislocating her shoulder, and she laughed because this was so iconic _LilyandScorpius _and she wouldn't want it any other way.

They exited St. Mungo's like a huge procession. For the first time in a long time, everyone was together in one great happy family and Lily just wanted to bottle the moment up for all of eternity because this was wonderful.

When they returned to Hogwarts, the entire student body—and the entire wizarding world for that matter—awaited to hear the story, because when ever Potter and Weasley skip school/work for three days straight, you know some shit went down. Reporters tried to ambush Lily and the others on their way back to Hogwarts, twice. At school, all the other students crowded around until it was physically impossible to maneuver past them in the halls.

Lily turned to the others and saw that they were all like her, a bit frazzled and very overwhelmed. They've always been semi-famous because of their parents, but never has the stardom reached such alarming proportions.

"What are we going to tell them?" Roxanne whispered.

Everyone looked at each other nervously. Then Lily shook her head and, with a conspiring wink, said, "We don't have to tell them anything."

And that's how the story ended, with the next generation marching into Hogwarts side by side, for nothing brings people together like one last secret.

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><p><strong>the end. <strong>review one last time? 14 more until i hit 100. tell me your favorite part of the story.


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